Resolution no. 22332

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 via the website https://finexstock.com and the respective webpage https://platform.finexstock.com

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. through the website https://finexstock.com - which is active and registered anonymously - potential investors are offered trading opportunities on CFDs relating to currencies, cryptocurrencies, shares and commodities through a dedicated platform;

ii. in order to place such trades, users must register with the website https://finexstock.com – through a procedure that is also available for Italian users – open an account, which can be also be achieved through the page https://platform.finexstock.com;

iii. in particular, the website https://finexstock.com mentions three types of account known as "Micro", "Standard" and "Premium", depending on the minimum deposit required and the benefits offered;

iv. as regards traceability, the "Client Agreement" on the website https://finexstock.com states that "Broker Capitals Limited ("Company" or "Broker Capitals"), whose registered office is located at: P.O. Box 1825, Cedar Hill Crest, Villa, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, registration number 21567 IBC 2013 renders the "Client Portal" service under the terms of this public proposal ("Agreement") to any individual or legal entity ("Client")";

v. within the reserved area https://platform.finexstock.com there is an identical "Client Agreement" which, however as an introduction, contains the following sentence "Finex Stock Limited ("Company" or "Finex Stock"), whose registered office is located at: P.O. Box 1825, Cedar Hill Crest, Villa, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, registration number 21567 IBC 2013 renders the "Client Portal" service under the terms of this public proposal ("Agreement") to any individual or legal entity ("Client")";

WHEREAS the activity carried out through the https://finexstock.com website and relevant https://platform.finexstock.com webpage constitutes 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 aforementioned domains to open a trading account and place orders to buy and/or sell financial instruments;

WHEREAS the aforementioned activity, carried out through the website https://finexstock.com and the respective webpage https://platform.finexstock.com, is still ongoing and is aimed at Italian investors, since there have been reports of cold calling of retail investors in Italy regarding the website https://finexstock.com and the respective webpage https://platform.finexstock.com;

WHEREAS Broker Capitals Limited e Finex Stock Limited, with its stated registered address at Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, is not authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public, given that 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 authorised 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://finexstock.com website and its https://platform.finexstock.com webpage, consisting in offering and providing 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.

10 May 2022

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona