Resolution no. 22828

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 via the https://simpletrading.broker website and the related https://office.simpletrading.broker web page

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 24th February 1998 (“Consolidated Law on Finance”) and subsequent amendments and supplements;

HAVING ESTABLISHED that, from checks on the web, it emerged that:

1. via the https://simpletrading.broker website - which is active and can be consulted in Italian - the potential investor is offered the possibility of trading in contracts for difference (CFDs) with currencies, shares, indices, bonds, and commodities as underlying assets;
2. in order to place such trades, users must register with the website at the URL https://simpletrading.broker through a process that is also available to Italian users, and then open a trading account and to deposit the necessary funds. Once you have registered, you can access the reserved area at the URL https://office.simpletrading.broker, which is available in Italian and where you will find the trading platform and a special function for depositing and withdrawing liquidity from your trading account;
3. as to the traceability of the transaction in question, the https://simpletrading.broker website contains references to the “Simple Trading” brand, while the reserved area of the website available at the URL https://office.simpletrading.broker mentions the “Simple Trade” brand. The contact page of the https://simpletrading.broker website also includes a London address and an e-mail address.

WHEREAS the activity carried out through the website https://simpletrading.broker and the respective page https://office.simpletrading.broker 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 opportunity through the aforementioned domains to open a trading account and place orders to buy and/or sell financial instruments;

WHEREAS the aforementioned activity, carried out through the https://simpletrading.broker website and its https://office.simpletrading.brokerweb page is still ongoing and is aimed at Italian investors, insofar as said domains are available in Italian and no mechanism was found to block registration by users attempting to register with the website from Italy through Italian IP addresses. In addition, there have been reports of cold calling by “Simple Trading” agents to retail investors in Italy, and furthermore complaints have been received from Italian retail investors;

WHEREAS the above domains cannot be attributed to an entity which is authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public, as neither the “Simple Trading” company mentioned on the https://simpletrading.broker website nor “Simple Trade” as shown on the related https://office.simpletrading.broker page are listed in 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 Article 18, paragraph 1, of the Consolidated Law on Finance;

HAVING REGARD TO the provisions of Article 7-octies, letter b) of the Consolidated Law on Finance - “Powers to counteract unauthorised provision of investment services” - pursuant to which 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 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 https://simpletrading.broker website and its respective https://office.simpletrading.broker webpage, consisting in offering and providing 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.

5 October 2023

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona