Resolution no. 22823

Order, pursuant to article 7-octies, paragraph 1, letter b) of Legislative Decree no. 58/1998 ("Consolidated Law on Finance") to cease the breach of article 18 of the Consolidated Law on Finance carried out via the https://aiontrader.com website and the respective web pages https://client.aiontrader.com and https://client1.aiontrader.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, as subsequently amended and supplemented;

HAVING REGARD to Legislative Decree no. 58 of 24 February 1998 (“Consolidated Law on Finance”), as subsequently amended and supplemented;

HAVING ESTABLISHED that, from the checks carried out, it emerged that:

1. via the https://aiontrader.com website, the potential investor is given the opportunity of trading forex, CFDs, shares and ETFs via a trading platform;
2. in order to place such trading transactions, users must register with the website, through a process that is also available to users connecting from Italy, and open an account in which to deposit funds; depending on the minimum deposit required and the benefits offered, four types of accounts are advertised on the website, namely “Standard”, “Bronzo”, “Argento” and “Oro” (‘Standard’, ‘Bronze’ ‘Silver’ and ‘Gold’); after registration, access to the restricted area of the website was possible at the addresses https://client.aiontrader.com and https://client1.aiontrader.com. where users can make deposits into the trading account and access the trading platform of the website;
3. he https://aiontrader.com website contains a reference to the support@aiontrader.com mailbox;

WHEREAS the activity carried out via the https:/aiontrader.com website and the related pages https://client.aiontrader.com and https://client1.aiontrader.com may be considered as the provision of investment services within the meaning of article 1, paragraph 5, of the Consolidated Law on Finance, as users, through the above-mentioned domains, are given the possibility of opening a trading account, on which purchase and/or sale orders for financial instruments may be placed;

WHEREAS, the above-mentioned activity, which is carried out via the https:/aiontrader.com website and the pages https://client.aiontrader.com and https://client1.aiontrader.com, is aimed at a public of Italian investors who, inter alia, have reported cold calling and complained that it is impossible to obtain the return of the sums paid and that no mechanisms have been put in place to prevent registration by users attempting to register on the domains from Italy using Italian IP addresses;

WHEREAS such activity carried out via the website and its related pages cannot be attributed to any entity that is authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public.

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 through the Internet without being qualified pursuant to this decree: […] b) order that such 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 breach of article 18 of Legislative Decree no. 58/98 carried out via the https://aiontrader.com website and the pages https://client.aiontrader.com and https://client1.aiontrader.com, which constitute the offer and provision of 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.

27 September 2023

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona