Resolution no. 22884

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 websites https://ai-trade.consulting and https://ai-trade.holdings and the related webpages https://cfd.ai-trade.consulting and https://cfd.ai-trade.holdings

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 checks on the web, it emerged that:

WHEREAS the activity carried out through the https://ai-trade.consulting and https://ai-trade.holdings websites and the related webpages https://cfd.ai-trade.consulting and https://cfd.ai-trade.holdings constitutes the provision of investment services, as referred to in Article 1, paragraph 5, of the Consolidated Law on Finance, since users are offered the opportunity, through the said domains, of opening a trading account where they can place orders for buying and/or selling financial instruments;

WHEREAS the above-mentioned activities are still ongoing and are aimed at Italian investors, since the websites https://ai-trade.consulting and https://ai-trade.holdings are also available in Italian and in relation to the operation of the same websites, contact activities with Italian investors have been reported and complaints have been received from Italian retail investors who have complained about the impossibility to obtain the refund of the sums used to operate via the online trading platform available therein;

WHEREAS the https://ai-trade.consulting and https://ai-trade.holdings websites and the related webpages https://cfd.ai-trade.consulting and https://cfd.ai-trade.holdings cannot be attributed to any entity authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public;

HAVING REGARD TO the requirement to hold a relevant licence to provide investment services and activities as per 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 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 Article 18 of Legislative Decree no. 58/98 carried out via the https://ai-trade.consulting and https://ai-trade.holdings websites and the related webpages https://cfd.ai-trade.consulting and https://cfd.ai-trade.holdings, consisting of the offering 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.

8 November 2023

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona