Resolution no. 22480

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 www.first-tradecfd.comwebsiteand related webpages https://my.first-tradecfd.com and https://webtrader.first-tradecfd.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 www.first-tradecfd.com website and related https://my.first-tradecfd.com and https://webtrader.first-tradecfd.com webpages it emerged that:

i. the www.first-tradecfd.com website and related https://my.first-tradecfd.com and https://webtrader.first-tradecfd.com webpages are active and offer, provided that an account is opened, the opportunity to trade Share CFDs, Forex, Indices and Commodities;

ii. in order to be able to trade via the website, it is necessary to register and access a reserved area[1] where it is possible, on condition that the requested documents are submitted, to open an account to deposit funds;

iii. it is possible to trade by selecting the "Go to Webtrader" link available in the reserved area, through which you are redirected to the trading platform, which can be reached at the web address https://webtrader.first-tradecfd.com;

iv. as to the traceability of the www.first-tradecfd.com website, it mentions PX Fintech Limited, with its alleged registered address in London[2].

WHEREAS the activity carried out through the www.first-tradecfd.com website and the respective https://my.first-tradecfd.com and https://webtrader.first-tradecfd.com webpages is deemed to constitute the provision of investment services as per article 1, paragraph 5, of the Consolidated Law on Finance, insofar as clients are offered the opportunity of opening a trading account on which they can place buy and/or sell orders for financial instruments;

WHEREAS the aforementioned activity, carried out by PX Fintech Limited through the www.first-tradecfd.com website and the respective https://my.first-tradecfd.com and https://webtrader.first-tradecfd.com webpages, is still ongoing and is aimed at Italian investors, insofar as, although the website is not available in Italian, a function of "Google Translate" has been activated which allows it to be translated into Italian, and no mechanism was found to block registration by users attempting to register on the website from Italy through Italian IP addresses. Moreover, there have been reports of contact with Italian customers through unsolicited remote solicitation techniques, i.e. cold calling, of retail investors in Italy;

WHEREAS PX Fintech Limited, with its alleged registered office in London, as mentioned on the www.first-tradecfd.com website, is not authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public, insofar as it is not listed in 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 article 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 abuse" - Consob "may, with regard to anyone who offers or carries out investment services or activities through the Internet without being qualified 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 no. 58/1998 carried out through the www.first-tradecfd.com websiteand relevant https://my.first-tradecfd.com and https://webtrader.first-tradecfd.com webpages, which consist in offering and providing investment services and activities to the Italian public.

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

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

11 October 2022

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona

[1] which can be reached at the web address https://my.first-tradecfd.com.

[2] A consultation of the UK Companies' Register did not reveal the existence of PX Fintech Limited.