Resolution no. 22117

Order, pursuant to article 7-octies, paragraph 1, letter b) of Legislative Decree no. 58/1998 ("Consolidated Law on Finance") to cease the infringement of article 18 of the Consolidated Law on Finance carried out through the https://binarium.com, https://binarium.global and https://binarium.trading internet domains

LA COMMISSIONE NAZIONALE PER LE SOCIETÀ E LA BORSA
[THE NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR COMPANIES AND THE STOCK EXCHANGE]

HAVING REGARD TO Law no. 216 of 7 June 1974 and subsequent amendments and supplements;

HAVING REGARD TO Legislative Decree no. 58 of 24 February 1998 ("Consolidated Law on Finance") and subsequent amendments and supplements;

HAVING ESTABLISHED that, from checks on the website, it emerged that:

i. if a user types the https://binarium.com or https://binarium.global internet domains into the browser address bar, they are switched to thehttps://binarium.trading URL;

ii. the website available at the https://binarium.trading URL is available in Italian and offers, among other things, the opportunity to trade CFDs with currencies, cryptocurrencies, shares, indices and commodities as the underlying assets;

iii. in order to be able to trade via the https://binarium.trading website, users must register and open an account and deposit the necessary funds;

iv. the https://binarium.trading website mentions the company Binarium Limited, with its registered office in Cyprus;

v. moreover, among the contacts on the https://binarium.trading website, the references to the offices declared by the aforementioned Binarium Limited in Latvia, Ukraine and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines are listed;

WHEREAS the activity carried out through the https://binarium.com, https://binarium.global and https://binarium.trading domains can be classed as the provision of investment services as referred to in article 1, paragraph 5, of the Consolidated Law on Finance, insofar as clients are offered the opportunity of opening a trading account against which purchase and/or sell orders for financial instruments can be issued;

WHEREAS the above activity, carried out by Binarium Limited via the https://binarium.com, https://binarium.global and https://binarium.trading domains is still ongoing and is also aimed at Italian investors, given that the https://binarium.trading website, to which the https://binarium.com or https://binarium.global domains also route, is available in Italian;

WHEREAS Binarium Limited, mentioned on the https://binarium.trading website, is not authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public, since it is not listed on the register kept by Consob pursuant to Article 20 of the Consolidated Law on Finance;

HAVING REGARD TO the requirement to hold a relevant licence in order to provide investment services, as per article 18, paragraph 1, of the Consolidated Law on Finance, pursuant to which "The professional provision of investment services and activities to the public is reserved to Italian Investment firms, EU investment firms, Italian banks, EU banks and non-EU firms";

HAVING ESTABLISHED, therefore, that the operations in question qualify as the professional provision of investment services to the Italian public, in infringement of art. 18, paragraph 1, of the Consolidated Law on Finance;

HAVING REGARD TO the fact that, according to the provisions of article 7-octies, letter b) of the Consolidated Law on Finance - "Powers to counteract abusive practices" - Consob "may, with regard to anyone who offers or carries out investment services or activities over the Internet without being qualified to do so pursuant to this decree: […] b) order that the infringement cease";

CONSIDERING it therefore necessary, in the light of the foregoing, to adopt this Resolution immediately for reasons of urgency;

RESOLVES:

To order the cessation of the infringement of article 18 of Legislative Decree 58/1998 carried out through the https://binarium.com, https://binarium.global and https://binarium.trading internet domains, consisting in the offering and provision of investment services and activities to the Italian public.

This Resolution shall be brought to the attention of the concerned parties and published in the Consob Bulletin.

This measure may be appealed before the Regional Administrative Court of Lazio within 60 days.

16 December 2021

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona