Resolution no. 22578

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://cmstrategy.io website and its https://webtrader.cmstrategy.io and https://client.cmstrategy.io 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://cmstrategy.io website – which is active, registered anonymously and available in Italian – offers potential investors the opportunity to trade CFDs on currencies, indices and commodities as well as shares via the platform available at the https://webtrader.cmstrategy.io webpage which is part of the https://cmstrategy.io website;

ii. in order to place such trades, users must register with the https://cmstrategy.io website via a procedure that is available, including for Italian users, at the additional https://client.cmstrategy.io webpage that is part of the https://cmstrategy.io website, open an account and deposit relevant funds;

iii. as to traceability, on the https://cmstrategy.io website there are references to "CMS Ltd" but there are no indications as to its registered office or further telephone or email addresses;

HAVING REGARD TO Consob Resolution no. 22488 of 19 October 2022, whereby CMS Ltd was ordered to cease its infringement of article 18 of the Consolidated Law on Finance carried out through the separate https://cmsltd.io website and its respective https://client.cmsltd.io and https://webtrader.cmsltd.io pages;

WHEREAS, in addition to using web domains that are partially superimposable on those of the https://cmsltd.io website and its respectivehttps://client.cmsltd.io and https://webtrader.cmsltd.io pages, the https://cmstrategy.io website and its respective https://webtrader.cmstrategy.io and https://client.cmstrategy.io pages replicate the content and graphic format of the said https://cmsltd.io website and its respective https://client.cmsltd.io and https://webtrader.cmsltd.i pages;

WHEREAS the activity carried out through the https://cmstrategy.io website and its respective https://webtrader.cmstrategy.io and https://client.cmstrategy.io pages 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 said domains of opening a trading account where they can place orders to buy and/or sell financial instruments;

WHEREAS the aforementioned activity, carried out through the https://cmstrategy.io website and its respective https://webtrader.cmstrategy.io and https://client.cmstrategy.io pages, is still ongoing and is aimed at Italian investors, insofar as the https://cmstrategy.io website is also available in Italian and no mechanism was found on the website to block registration by users attempting to register with the same domain from Italy/via Italian IP addresses. Moreover, regarding the https://cmstrategy.io website, reports have been received of investment solicitation by cold calling retail investors in Italy, and furthermore complaints have been received from Italian retail investors about the initiatives advertised by the https://cmstrategy.io website. Evidence has also been gathered of conversations conducted in Italian between operators on the https://cmstrategy.io website and Italian retail investors.

WHEREAS CMS Ltd, the company mentioned on the website, is not authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public, since it is not enrolled on the register maintained 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://cmstrategy.io website and its https://webtrader.cmstrategy.io and https://client.cmstrategy.io pages, which constitutes the offering and provision of investment services and activities to the Italian public.

This Resolution shall be disclosed to the public through publication in the Consob Bulletin.

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

1 February 2023

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona