Resolution no. 22829

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 websites https://primus-ltd.net and https://primusltd.co and their pages https://panel.primus-ltd.net, trading.primus-ltd.net, https://panel.primusltd.co and trading.primusltd.co

LA COMMISSIONE NAZIONALE PER LE SOCIETÀ E LA BORSA

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 checks on the web, it emerged that:

i. via the websites https://primus-ltd.net and https://primusltd.co which are active, anonymously registered and have a similar content and graphic format, the potential investor is offered the possibility of trading on the forex market and CFDs relating to commodities, indices and digital currencies;

ii. to carry out the abovementioned trading transactions, registration on the websites https://primus-ltd.net and https://primusltd.co from, respectively, the relevant pages https://panel.primus-ltd.net and https://panel.primusltd.co, both of which are available in Italian, is requested;

iii. once the registration procedure for the websites has been completed, it is possible to access their reserved area, which contains a dashboard, also available in the Italian language version, from which it is also possible to use the trading platforms respectively available at the additional pages trading.primus-ltd.net and trading.primusltd.co;

iv. on the websites https://primus-ltd.net and https://primusltd.co the name "PRIMUSLTD" and the e-mail addresses "info@primusltd.net" and "support@primusltd.net" are generically stated.

WHEREAS the activity carried out via the https://primus-ltd.net and https://primusltd.cowebsites and their pages https://panel.primus-ltd.net, trading.primus-ltd.net, https://panel.primusltd.co and trading.primusltd.co, constitutes a 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, via the said domains, to open a trading account and place orders to buy and/or sell financial instruments;

WHEREAS the operations described above are still in progress and aimed at Italian investors, since the registration pages of the websites https://primus-ltd.net and https://primusltd.co and the reserved area of the same are also available in the Italian language, and in relation to the operation of the same websites, the absence of mechanisms aimed at preventing registration by users attempting to register from Italy/Italian IP addresses was noted. Furthermore, with regard to the operation of the https://primus-ltd.net and https://primusltd.co websites, contact activity with Italian savers has been reported, and complaints have been received from Italian savers who have reported that they have been unable to obtain the return of sums used to trade through the online trading platforms available there;

WHEREAS the https://primus-ltd.net and https://primusltd.co websites and their pages https://panel.primus-ltd.net, trading.primus-ltd.net, https://panel.primusltd.co and trading.primusltd.co cannot be attributed to any entity 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 breach 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 to do so pursuant to this decree: […] b) order the cessation of the breach";

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 art. 18 of Legislative Decree no. 58/98 performed through the websites https://primus-ltd.net and https://primusltd.co and their pages https://panel.primus-ltd.net, trading.primus-ltd.net, https://panel.primusltd.co and trading.primusltd.co, consisting in the 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.

5 October 2023

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona