Resolution no. 22618

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 website https://brokercapcfd24.com and the relevant page https://platform2.brokercapcfd24.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 24 February 1998 ("Consolidated Law on Finance") and subsequent amendments and supplements;

HAVING ESTABLISHED that checks on the internet ascertained that:

1. the website https://brokercapcfd24.com, which is active, registered anonymously and available only in Italian, offers potential investors the opportunity, subject to prior opening of an account, to trade CFDs on currencies, indices, commodities and shares through a dedicated platform;
2. in order to place such trades, users must register on the website https://brokercapcfd24.com – through a process that can be accessed on the web page https://platform2.brokercapcfd24.com – then open a trading account and deposit relevant funds;
3. in particular, the website advertises three types of account known as "Micro", "Standard" and "Premium", depending on the minimum deposit required and the benefits offered;
4. as far as traceability is concerned, the website https://brokercapcfd24.com contains references to Broker Capitals Ltd, with registered office in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines;

HAVING REGARD TO Consob Resolution no. 22332 of 10 May 2022, whereby Broker Capitals Ltd was ordered to cease the infringement of article 18 of the Consolidated Law on Finance conducted through the separate website https://finexstock.com and the respective page https://platform.finexstock.com;

HAVING REGARD TO Consob Resolution no. 22356 of 9 June 2022, whereby Broker Capitals Ltd was ordered to cease the infringement of article 18 of the Consolidated Law on Finance conducted through the separate website https://finexstock.eu and the respective page https://platform.finexstock.eu;

HAVING REGARD TO Consob Resolution no. 22426 of 28 July 2022, whereby Broker Capitals Ltd was ordered to cease the infringement of article 18 of the Consolidated Law on Finance conducted through the separate website https://brokercapitalscom and the respective page https://platform.brokercapitals.com;

HAVING REGARD TO Consob Resolution no. 22505 of 9 November 2022, whereby Broker Capitals Ltd was ordered to cease the infringement of article 18 of the Consolidated Law on Finance conducted through the separate website https://broker-capitals.com and the respective page https://platform.broker-capitals.com;

WHEREAS the website https://brokercapcfd24.com replicates the content and graphic format of the websites https://finexstock.com, https://finexstock.eu, https://brokercapitals.com and https://broker-capitals.com in a substantial way;

WHEREAS the activity carried out through the website https://brokercapcfd24.com and the relevant page https://platform2.brokercapcfd24.com is deemed to constitute 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 possibility through the aforementioned domains to open a trading account on which it is possible to issue purchase and/or sale orders relating to financial instruments;

WHEREAS the aforementioned activity, carried out through the website https://brokercapcfd24.com and the relevant web page https://platform2.brokercapcfd24.com, is still ongoing and is aimed at Italian investors, insofar as the websites were available in Italian and no mechanism was found to block registration by users attempting to register on the websites from Italy/Italian IP addresses. In addition, complaints were received from Italian savers in relation to the products promoted through the website https://brokercapcfd24.com;

WHEREAS Broker Capitals Ltd, with its reported registered address in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, as mentioned on the website https://brokercapcfd24.com, is not authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public, insofar as it is not listed on the dedicated 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 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 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 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. 58/98 carried out through the website https://brokercapcfd24.com and the relevant page https://platform2.brokercapcfd24.com, constituted by the offer 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.

8 March 2023

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona