Resolution no. 22505

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://broker-capitals.com website and relative https://platform.broker-capitals.com webpage

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://broker-capitals.com website – which is active, registered anonymously and available in Italian – offers potential investors the opportunity to trade CFDs on currencies, indices, shares and commodities via a trading platform;

ii. in order to place such trades, users must register with the https://broker-capitals.com website – through a procedure that is also available for Italian users – and open an account. After registering, users can access the reserved area of the website available at the address https://platform.broker-capitals.com, where several features are available, including a special function for making cash deposits into the trading account;

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

iv. as far as traceability is concerned, the contractual document "Client Agreement", found on the https://broker-capitals.com website, mentions the company Broker Capitals Limited with alleged registered office in "St. Vincent and the Grenadines".

HAVING REGARD TO Consob Resolutions no. 22332 of 10 May 2022 and no. 22356 of 9 June 2022, whereby the said "Broker Capitals Limited" was ordered to cease its infringement of article 18 of the Consolidated Law on Finance conducted through the separate https://finexstock.com website and its relative https://platform.finexstock.com webpage, and https://finexstock.eu website and its relative https://platform.finexstock.eu webpage;

HAVING REGARD TO Resolution no. 22426 of 28 July 2022, whereby the said "Broker Capitals Limited" was ordered to cease its infringement of article 18 of the Consolidated Law on Finance conducted through the separate https://brokercapitals.comwebsite and the relevant https://platform.brokercapitals.com webpage;

WHEREAS the https://brokercapitals.com website replicates the content and graphic format of the aforementioned domains, https://finexstock.com, https://finexstock.eu and https://brokercapitals.com;

WHEREAS the activity carried out through the https://broker-capitals.com website and its respective https://platform.broker-capitals.com webpage constitutes the provision of investment services, within the meaning of article 1, paragraph 5, of the Consolidated Law on Finance, insofar as users are offered the opportunity, through the aforementioned internet domains, to open a trading account and place orders to buy and/or sell financial instruments;

WHEREAS the aforementioned activity, carried out via the https://broker-capitals.com website and respective https://platform.broker-capitals.com webpage, is still ongoing and is aimed at Italian investors, insofar as the aforementioned domains may be consulted in Italian; moreover, no mechanism was found to block registration by users attempting to register with the https://broker-capitals.com website from Italy/Italian IP addresses. Finally, reports have been received, in relation to the https://broker-capitals.com website, of investment solicitation by cold calling retail investors in Italy and, moreover, complaints have also been received from Italian retail investors;

WHEREAS the company Broker Capitals Limited, with its alleged 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 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 unauthorised provision of investment services" - 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://broker-capitals.com website and its respective https://platform.broker-capitals.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 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 of the date of service.

9 November 2022

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona