News of the week:
Save the Date: 14 March 2025 Fifty years of Consob: between present and future. Thoughts at Bocconi
Crypto-assets: Joint Consob and Bank of Italy communication on accounting in the financial statements, disclosures to the market and statutory auditing
Abusive offering of memecoin $CORONA blocked. Consob crackdown on abusive crypto traders continues. Eleven sites blacked out.
Watch for Scams! Financial education on stage - Consob brings to the theatre the "Ponzi scheme" - In Salento two appointments on 10 and 11 March.

Commission decisions

- NEWS OF THE WEEK -

On 14 March 2025 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., Consob and Bocconi University are organising a study day on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the birth of the Financial Markets Regulatory and Supervisory Authority in Italy, at the SDA Bocconi, Aula Magna, Via Gobbi 5, in Milan.

The study day intends to investigate the challenges on the role and functions of Consob in the context of the evolution of financial markets, the transformations underway and the process of integration of capital markets at European level, with interventions from authoritative experts in the relevant scientific subjects and institutions.

The day will be opened by the institutional welcome addresses by Francesco Billari (Rector of Bocconi University), Paolo Savona (President of Consob) and Piergaetano Marchetti (Professor Emeritus of Bocconi University).

Marco Ventoruzzo (Bocconi University), scientific coordinator of the study day will open the proceedings, followed by the introductory report by Federico Freni (Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of the Economy and Finance) on the Reform of the Consolidated Law on Finance.

The event is organised in four sessions:

Session I – The financial market: outlook

Chaired by: Federico Cornelli (Consob Commissioner), there will be presentations by:

- Stefano Caselli (Bocconi University) - Intermediation

- Maurizio Dallocchio (Bocconi University) - The markets

- Giovanni Petrella (Catholic University of the Sacred Heart) - Investors

- Massimo Belcredi (Catholic University of the Sacred Heart) - Issuers

- Silvia Rovere President of Poste Italiane - Non-bank intermediation

Session II – The Rules: outlook

Chaired by: Chiara Mosca Bocconi University, Consob Commissioner, there will be presentations by:

- Mario Nava (Bocconi University) - National legislation and community law

- Lucia Calvosa (University of Pisa) - Corporate governance

- Luigi Arturo Bianchi (Bocconi University) - Governance models

- Gaetano Presti (Catholic University of the Sacred Heart) - The control market

Session III – Innovation and sustainability

Chaired by: Gabriella Alemanno Consob Commissioner, there will be presentations by:

- Barbara Alemanni (University of Genoa) - The ecological transition

- Enrico Giovannini (University of Rome "Tor Vergata") - Financing sustainable development

- Giuseppe Francesco Italiano (Luiss Guido Carli) - The technological challenge

- Donato Masciandaro (Bocconi University) - The financial and monetary system

Session IV – Towards Savings and Investment Union through Capital Markets

Chaired by: Carlo Comporti Consob Commissioner.

Introduction by Enrico Letta, President Jacques Delors Institute, followed by presentations by:

- John Berrigan, DG FISMA, European Commission (remote intervention);

- Piero Cipollone, Member of the ECB Board;

- Carmine Di Noia, DAF OECD Director;

- Laura van Geest, AFM Chair;

- Vasiliki Lazarakou, Chair of HCMC (Hellenic Capital Markets Commission);

- Verena Ross, ESMA Chair;

- David Wright, Eurofi Chairman.

- Andrea Sironi (President of Bocconi University) and Paolo Savona (President of Consob) will conclude the day.

The event will be held in Italian (morning sessions) and English (afternoon session). A simultaneous translation service will be provided. The poster, available on the Consob website, gives the detailed programme.

To participate in person, you must register at the following link: https://eventi.unibocconi.it/index.php?key=ev2025010083, indicating the preference for the whole day or only for the morning or afternoon session.

The event can also be streamed on the YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/live/K4YfWl08T5g.

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Consob and the Bank of Italy have adopted a joint Communication on the accounting of crypto-assets in financial statements, on the relative transparency towards the financial market and on the audits by the auditors.

The Communication is addressed to companies with shares listed on the Stock Exchange or traded on multilateral trading platforms (issuers), audit firms and statutory auditors.

Without introducing new obligations, Consob and the Bank of Italy highlight to issuers the importance of providing useful disclosures to the market in their financial statements to understand the effects of crypto-assets on financial performance and financial position, in light of the exposure and risk associated with positions held directly or indirectly.

It is also stressed that, in line with the indications provided by the International Financial Reporting Standard Interpretations Committee (IFRS IC), crypto-currencies must be represented in the financial statements by applying accounting standard IAS 38 relating to intangible assets or, where they are held for sale in the ordinary course of the issuer's business, IAS 2 relating to inventories.

In the case of other types of crypto-assets, issuers are required to evaluate their specific characteristics in order to identify the most appropriate accounting treatment and provide a complete representation in the financial statements of the nature and risks associated with them, giving timely and adequate information to the public, as required by the regulations on combating market abuse.

Lastly, the Communication informs audit firms and statutory auditors of the specific characteristics and risks inherent in carrying out audits on companies that hold crypto-assets, in light of their extreme volatility and complexity and the evolution of the regulatory environment. The auditors must also pay particular attention to the relevant aspects from the perspective of anti-money laundering legislation.

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Consob's interventions in the crypto-assets sector continue due the powers granted by the European sector regulation (Micar).

Consob has ordered the termination of the abusive offer of crypto-assets called "memecoin $CORONA," at the Italian public, which was also promoted through the website www.getcoronamemes.com, lacking previous notification to Consob of the disclosure document (white-paper) required by Micar.

Six websites through which cryptocurrency services were provided without the required authorizations from Micar were, in addition, blocked:

- "Spazio Finanziario" (website www.spaziofinanziario.it and related pages www.clients.spaziofinanziario.com and www.trading.spaziofinanziario.com);

- "HTXcoin-az" (website https://m.htxcoin-az.com);

- "Stock Credit Wallet" (website https://stockcreditwallet.com);

- "Paycraftv.top"/"Paycraftn.top" (websites https://paycraftv.top and https://paycraftn.top);

- "CoinBank Exchange" (website https://coinbankexchange.icu).

Further interventions against financial abuse also continues. Consob has blacked out the following four unauthorized financial intermediation sites:

- "Capitalgates" (website https://capitalgates.io);

- "Tux" (websites https://tuxitu.com and https://tuxamity.com);

- "AquillaFX" (website https://aquillafx.net and related page https://client.aquillafx.net).

In aggregate, eleven sites have been blacked out this week. This brings the total number of sites blocked by Consob, since the Authority was given the power in July 2019 to order the blocking of websites of abusive financial intermediaries, to 1247.

The measures adopted by Consob can be consulted on the website www.consob.it . The black-out of these websites by Internet service providers operating on Italian territory is ongoing. For technical reasons, it can take several days for the black-out to come into effect.

Consob draws investors' attention to the importance of adopting the greatest diligence in order to make informed investment choices, adopting common sense behaviors, essential to safeguard their savings: these include, for websites that offer financial services, checking in advance that the operator with whom they are investing is authorized, and, for offers of financial products, that a prospectus or the white paper has been published.

To this end, Consob would remind you that on the website www.consob.it there is a section on the homepage, "Watch for Scams!", providing useful information to warn investors against financially unauthorized initiatives.

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The "Ponzi scheme," the most widespread financial scam model, devised a century ago by Charles Ponzi, the Italian adventurer who emigrated to the United States, is on stage in Salento.

Consob invites on stage for a financial education evening with the show "Watch for Scams!" from the cycle about Finance on Stage.

The first appointment is Monday, 10 March at 8.00 p.m. at the Novoli Theater, which will host the theater pièce inspired by the autobiography written in prison by Ponzi himself. After the play, Alessandro Prontera, Deputy Prosecutor at the Public Prosecutor's Office of Lecce, and Paola Soccorso, head of Consob's Financial Education Office, will talk with the audience to describe the most widespread and recurring abusive practices.

The second event is the next day, Tuesday, 11 March, in Caprarica di Lecce at the Centro Polivalente "Sindaco E. Greco," at 7 p.m.

This will be the opportunity to make the acquaintance of the swindler Charles Ponzi, whose name is intimately associated with the "mother of all financial frauds." In the early 20^th century, some 40,000 Boston savers fell into his net, lured by the prospect of sky-high but wholly unrealistic returns. After a brief moment of glory and ephemeral wealth, when he was no longer able to deliver on the promises of returns built on deception, Ponzi was swept into the rubble of his own house of cards and the gates of prison opened for him. From that story Nadia Linciano, Consob’s Secretary General, and Massimo Giordano, an actor from Salento, drew the script for a show synthesizing entertainment and education.

A century later, the "Ponzi scheme" is still relevant today. Most financial frauds are, in fact, based on that same model. The news continually re-proposes similar scams that claim victims, preying on the lack of preparation and impulsiveness of savers and promising dazzling investment opportunities that are nothing more than a re-edition of the "Ponzi scheme."

To avoid falling into the financial scams trap, you may log into the "Watch for scams!" section on Consob's website homepage (https://www.consob.it/web/consob-and-its-activities/watch-for-scams), and find basic rules for saver protection.

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• Extended the authorization of Giotto Cellino Sim Spa to provide the investment service of placement without irrevocable commitment to the issuer referred to in Article no. 1, paragraph 5, letter c-bis), of Legislative Decree 58/1998, with holding the cash and financial instruments of the customers (Resolution No. 23451 of 4 March 2025).

Order, pursuant to Article 7-octies, letter b) of Italian Legislative Decree no. 58 of 24 February 1998 (Consolidated Law on Finance) to cease infringement of Article 18 of said Consolidated Law on Finance, put in place by:

- Capitalgates via the website https://capitalgates.io (resolution no. 23453 of 4 March 2025);

- Tux/Tuxai via the websites https://tuxitu.com and https://tuxamity.com (resolution no. 23452 of 4 March 2025);

- AquillaFX via the website https://aquillafx.net and its page https://client.aquillafx.net (resolution No. 23454 of 4 March 2025).

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