Resolution no. 22239

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://eufm.eu website and the relative https://client.eufm.eu and https://webtrader.eufm.eu webpages

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 24th February 1998 ("Consolidated Law on Finance") and subsequent amendments and supplements;

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

i. the https://eufm.eu website – which is active, registered anonymously and available in Italian – offers potential investors the opportunity to trade CFDs on currencies, indices and commodities;

ii. in order to place such trades, users must register with the https://eufm.eu website – through a procedure that is available, including for Italian users, on the separate https://client.eufm.eu and https://webtrader.eufm.eu web pages – open a trading accountand deposit the necessary funds;

iii. in particular, four types of account are listed on the https://eufm.eu website, referred to as "Base", "Standard", "Pro" and "VIP", depending on the minimum deposit required and the benefits promised;

iv. as to traceability, the footer of the https://eufm.eu website's pages mentions Eufm Ltd with its stated registered office in the Marshall Islands;

WHEREAS the activity carried out through the https://eufm.eu website and relative https://client.eufm.eu and https://webtrader.eufm.eu pagesconstitutes the provision of investment services, as referred to in article 1, paragraph 5, of the Consolidated Law on Finance, insofar as users are offered the opportunity through the said domains of opening a trading account where they can place orders to buy and/or sell financial instruments;

WHEREAS the above-described transactions, carried out through the https://eufm.eu website and relevant https://client.eufm.eu and https://webtrader.eufm.eu pages, are still ongoing and are aimed at Italian investors since the https://eufm.eu site is also available in Italian and there have also been reports regarding the domain of cold calling of retail investors in Italy;

WHEREAS Eufm Ltd, with its stated registered office in the Marshall Islands, which is mentioned on the https://eufm.eu website, is not authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public, since it is not listed in the register kept by Consob pursuant to article 20 of the Consolidated Law on Finance;

HAVING REGARD TO the fact that the provision of investment services and activities is reserved to licensed parties as referred to under 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 the cessation of the infringement";

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 no. 58/98 carried out through the https://eufm.eu website and relevant https://client.eufm.eu and https://webtrader.eufm.eu pages, which constitutes 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 of the date of service.

23 February 2022

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona