Resolution no. 22656

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 website www.epicinvest24.net and its page https://webtrader.epicinvest24.net

LA COMMISSIONE NAZIONALE PER LE SOCIETÀ E LA BORSA
[THE NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR COMPANIES AND THE STOCK EXCHANGE]/strong>

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:

1. potential investors are offered the opportunity via the www.epicinvest24.net website – which is active, registered anonymously and also available in Italian – to trade CFDs on currencies, shares, commodities, indices and cryptocurrencies;
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; specifically, six types of account called “Basic”, “Bronze”, “Silver”, “Gold”, “Platinum” and “Elite” are advertised on the website which differ, among other things, based on the required deposit. Following registration, users access the restricted area of the website where it is possible to make deposits to the trading account and select the 'Access Webtrader” link through which they are redirected to the trading platform, which can be found at https://webtrader.epicinvest24.net;
3. as to traceability, the footer of the website mentions the company C.F. Global Enterprise LLC allegedly based in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

4. WHEREAS the activity carried out through the www.epicinvest24.net website and its page https://webtrader.epicinvest24.net 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 www.epicinvest24.net website and its page https://webtrader.epicinvest24.net, is still ongoing and aimed at Italian investors, insofar as the website has been found to be available in Italian and complaints have been received of Italian savers not being able to withdraw their deposited funds. Furthermore, no mechanism was found aimed at blocking registration by users attempting to register with the www.epicinvest24.net website from Italy via Italian IP addresses;

   WHEREAS C.F. Global Enterprise LLC, allegedly based in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, as mentioned on the www.epicinvest24.net website, is not authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public, insofar as it is not listed in the register kept by Consob pursuant to article 20 of the Consolidated Law on Finance;

   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 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 infringement of article 18 of Legislative Decree no. 58/98 carried out through the www.epicinvest24.net website and its page https://webtrader.epicinvest24.net, consisting in the offering 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 of the date of service.

   29 March 2023

   THE CHAIRMAN
   Paolo Savona