Press releases 2025

Press Releases

Press releases 2025

Asset Publisher

Watch for Scams! Five illegal websites blacked out: one more case of unauthorized use of the image of the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella

Consob has ordered the blocking of five illegal websites as part of its efforts to combat financial fraud. Specifically, 4 websites offering illegal investment services and activities on financial instruments have been shut down, along with 1 website advertising an unauthorized trading platform that misused the image of public figures, specifically the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, and Italian companies operating in the energy sector. Consob has already taken action in the past to block websites that made illegal reference to the President of the Republic.

Below is a list of the websites that have been blocked:

- "Freetradeeuropa.com" (website www.freetradeeuropa.com and related pages https://clientarea.platform-trade247.com, https://web-trader.platform-trade247.com);

- "Safecap" (website https://safecapinv.com and related page https://client.safecapinv.com);

- "Bosonalfa-ai" (website https://bosonalfa-ai.com and page https://portal.tradingfxapp.me);

-"GlobalMarketsIC" (website https://glblmrktsic.com and related page https://cab.glblmrktsic.com and linked advertising website https://il-petrolio-italiano.it).

This brings the total number of websites blocked by Consob since July 2019, when the Authority was given the power to order the blocking of websites of abusive financial intermediaries, to 1.522.

The Authority has exercised the powers deriving from the 'Growth Decree' to block the websites of abusive financial intermediaries and those introduced by the 'Capital Law' relating to the blocking of websites used to carry out advertising campaigns for abusive intermediation platforms.

The measures adopted by Consob are available on the website www.consob.it. Internet service providers operating in Italy are currently blocking access to the websites. For technical reasons, it may take a few days for the block to take effect.

It is important that savers exercise the utmost diligence in making fully informed investment choices, adopting common sense behaviors that are essential for safeguarding their savings: these include checking in advance, for websites offering financial services and crypto-assets, that the operator through which you are investing is authorized and, for financial and crypto-asset product offerings, that the prospectus or white paper has been published.

Consob also draws attention to the evolution of deceptive practices that exploit the Internet to steal users' money and personal data: there has been an increase in the use of new tools, such as email messages and 'cloned' websites, fake profiles of politicians and celebrities, and content generated using artificial intelligence systems - such as images, voices, or videos - with the aim of inducing savers to make harmful investment choices.

To this end, Consob reminds investors that its website features a section entitled "Watch for Scams!", which provides useful information to warn investors against abusive financial initiatives.

Press release PDF version

Rome, 18 December 2025

Consob warns investors: beware of fraud attempts via fake emails containing illegal references to the Authority - Ten abusive websites blocked and requested to remove a mobile app used to provide illegal financial services: one more case of misuse of Prime Minister’s Giorgia Meloni image

Non-existent transfers of funds from foreign accounts or unfounded obligations arising from Brexit: beware of fraud attempts via fake emails with fictitious Consob addresses. The Authority has published a Warning to alert investors to fraudulent initiatives by subjects who, fraudulently posing themselves as Consob officials, send emails from email accounts in appearance linked to the Commission. Their aim is to induce investors to pay sums of money to benefit from alleged ‘debt recovery’ services or to ‘unblock’ phantom funds or crypto assets.

Furthermore, as part of its efforts to combat financial abuse, Consob has ordered the blocking of a total of 10 websites.

In particular, 6 websites that illegally provided investment services and activities on financial instruments were blacked out, as well as one website that promoted an unauthorized trading platform through the improper use of references and images of public figures known to the Italian public, specifically Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and journalist Sigfrido Ranucci. Below is a list of the websites that have been ordered to be blacked out:
- “FXInvest” (website https://fxinvest.co and related page https://client.fxinvest.co);
- “ICCTRADES” (website https://icctrades.com and related page https://client.icctrades.com);
- “FortivestTrade” (website www.fortivesttrade.org);
- “Vorenixio” (website https://vorenixio.pro);
- “Eurotradecfd” (website https://eurotrade24-cfds.com and related page https://client.eurotrade24-cfds.com);
- Morgan Capital Ltd – “huriyettdaily.news” (website https://morgancapital.io and related page https://cfd.morgancapital.io and linked advertising website https://huriyettdaily.news).
In addition, Consob ordered the blocking of 3 websites through which crypto-asset services were being provided illegally:
- “Druvaxio” (website https://druvaxio-invest.com);
- “Lucrumiagroup” (websites https://www.lucrumiaofficial.co and https://www.lucrumiamode.co, with related pages https://wap.lucrumiaofficial.co and https://wap.lucrumiamode.co).
This brings the total number of websites blocked by Consob since July 2019, when the Authority was given the power to order the blocking of websites of abusive financial intermediaries, to 1.517.

Finally, Consob asked Apple to remove from its distribution platform in Italy the mobile app linked to ‘Eurotradecfd,’ named ‘DataShark GT’: an application through which financial services were offered illegally.

The Authority has exercised the powers deriving from the ‘Growth Decree’ to block the websites of abusive financial intermediaries, those introduced by the ‘Capital Law’ relating to the blocking of websites used to carry out advertising campaigns for abusive intermediation platforms, as well as the powers provided for by MiCAR (EU Regulation and Legislative Decree No. 129/2024) regarding the blocking of websites through which crypto-asset services are provided to Italian savers without due authorization.

The measures adopted by Consob are available on the website www.consob.it. The blocking of websites by providers is currently underway.

It is important that savers exercise the utmost diligence in making fully informed investment choices, adopting common sense behaviors that are essential for safeguarding their savings: these include checking in advance, for websites offering financial services and crypto-assets, that the operator through which you are investing is authorized and, for financial and crypto-asset product offerings, that the prospectus or white paper has been published.

Consob also draws attention to the evolution of deceptive practices that exploit the internet to steal users' money and personal data: there has been an increase in the use of new tools, such as email messages and ‘cloned’ websites, fake profiles of politicians and celebrities, and content generated using artificial intelligence systems - such as images, voices, or videos - with the aim of inducing savers to make harmful investment choices.

To this end, Consob reminds investors that its website features a section entitled “Watch for Scams!” which provides useful information to warn investors against abusive financial initiatives.

Press release PDF version

Rome, 15 December 2025

Sustainable finance, pay attention to overconfidence in one's own assessment abilities - Consob publishes a Research Paper on the behaviour of Italian retail investors and the role of financial advice on Esg issues

Information and expertise are key elements in encouraging investors to choose sustainable products and promoting the Esg (Environmental, Social, Governance) transition. However, overconfidence in one's own knowledge of sustainability can lead to uninformed investment choices by savers.

The Research Paper ‘Retail investors and sustainable finance’, published by Consob, shows that greater access to information on sustainable finance increases both knowledge of sustainable products and the risk of overconfidence in investors' perception of their expertise.

For this reason, the authors - Francesco Corielli and Francesco Saita of Bocconi University, Daniela Costa and Monica Gentile of Consob's Research and Regulation Division - have highlighted the need for a regulatory and information framework that not only improve investors' knowledge but also considers the possible bias associated with overconfidence.

Finally, according to the study, which is based on data collected by Consob for the “Report on the investment choices of Italian households”, financial advice can have a positive impact on Esg investment choices. Indeed, the propensity to invest in sustainable assets is strongly correlated with whether the advisor proactively asks about sustainability preferences or provides information on sustainable products, particularly when this is done on the advisor’s own initiative.

Press release PDF version

Rome, 10 December 2025

Watch for Scams! Abusive financial services: over 1,500 websites blacked out by Consob - Since 2019, 2,270 web domains offering illegal investment and crypto-asset services have been blocked

Over 1,500 websites have been blocked by Consob as part of its efforts to combat financial fraud. Since July 2019, when the Authority was given the power to order the blocking of websites belonging to illegal financial intermediaries, 1,507 websites have been shut down, in addition to 763 web pages, for a total of 2,270 individual web domains blocked.

In the last week, Consob ordered the blocking of 11 new websites: of these, ten were illegally offering crypto-asset services and one was providing illegal financial intermediation services. Since January 2025, 307 sites have been closed, 196 of which for the unauthorized provision of investment services and activities on financial instruments or the illegal offering of financial products to the public, while a further 111 websites have been blocked for illegal activities relating to crypto assets.

Below are the websites that Consob ordered to be blocked last week:
- Praxiscarma s.a. (website www.praxiscarma.com and related page https://office.praxiscarma.com);
- “RYE036” (website https://rye026.it);
- “RYE326” (website https://rye326.it);
- “03WAKIH” (website https://03wakih.it);
- “SJCJ11” (website https://sjcj11.it);
- “01LUHAR” (site https://01luhar.it);
- “GKJ159” (website https://gkj159.it);
- “DSHS82” (website https://dshs82.it);
- “GFJ123” (website https://gfj123.it);
- “L88159” (website https://l88159.it);
- “FGJ329” (website https://fgj329.it).
In details, the Authority exercises the powers conferred upon it by the “Decreto crescita” (“Growth Decree”, converted by Law No. 58 of 28 June 2019), which allows it to black out the websites of abusive financial intermediaries, and the powers introduced by MiCAR (EU Regulation 2023/1114 and Legislative Decree No. 129 of 5 September 2024), relating to the blocking of websites that provide crypto-asset services to Italian savers without due authorization.

Internet service providers operating in Italy are currently blocking access to these websites: for technical reasons, it may take a few days for the block to take effect. The measures adopted by Consob can be consulted on the website www.consob.it.

Consob draws investors' attention to the importance of exercising the utmost diligence to make fully informed investment choices, adopting common sense behaviors that are essential for safeguarding their savings. In particular, it is essential to check in advance for websites offering financial and crypto-asset services, that the operator through which you are investing is authorized and, for offers of financial and crypto-asset products, that the prospectus or white paper has been published. The website www.consob.it has a section on its homepage entitled ‘Watch for Scams!’, which provides useful information to warn investors against abusive financial initiatives.

Press release PDF version

Rome, 5 December 2025

Crypto-assets, Consob issues warnings to investors and a call for attention to operators - The deadline of 30 December 2025, set by the transitional period for compliance with Micar, is approaching

Consob urges investors and operators to pay close attention to the 30 December deadline set for the transition period for compliance with the new MiCAR regulations, the European regulation on crypto-asset markets.

30 December 2025 is the last day on which Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs, operators currently offering virtual asset services, such as cryptocurrency exchanges) registered with the OAM (the Organismo Agenti e Mediatori, or Agents and Brokers Organisation) can continue to operate. The same VASPs may - provided that an application for authorisation to operate as a CASP (Crypto-asset Service Provider) in Italy or another EU Member State is submitted (including at group level) by 30 December - continue their activities until the authorisation is granted or refused, and in any case no later than 30 June 2026.

The current regulatory regime in Italy requires for VASPs only to be registered with the OAM. CASPs, on the other hand, must obtain authorisation from the Supervisory Authorities and are subject to their supervision.

In order to facilitate an orderly and transparent transition to this new regime provided by MiCAR, in line with the communication on the same subject published today by ESMA (the European Securities and Markets Authority), Consob highlights (Communication No. 16/25 of 4 December 2025) the precautions to be taken by investors and once again draw the attention of operators to the obligations and tasks associated with the expiry of the transitional period.

Warnings for investors

Consob points out that VASPs currently operating may no longer be authorised to operate after 30 December 2025. In this context, it is therefore essential that investors verify that:
1. they have received the necessary information from the VASP with which they have invested. If not, they should ask for clarification on the operator's plans to comply with the new regulations;
2. the operator is actually authorised to provide services in Italy after 30 December, by consulting the list of VASPs kept by the OAM or the register of authorised CASPs kept by ESMA.
If the operator is not authorised, it cannot continue to provide crypto-asset services to the public and the investor has the right to request the return of their money or crypto-assets.

Warning for VASP operators

On several occasions, Consob has provided operational guidance to interested parties, both through dedicated discussions and through various general communications, such as that of September 2024 with preliminary instructions for operators and the Notice of July 2025 published on the occasion of the extension of the national transitional period to 30 June 2026. Consob also issued a specific reminder on 31 October 2025 to VASPs registered in the OAM register that are not yet authorised under MiCAR.

In view of the 30 December 2025 deadline, Consob therefore reminds VASPs that do not intend to apply for authorisation as CASPs under MiCAR that they must:
1. cease operations in Italy by that date and terminate existing contracts;
2. return crypto-assets and funds to customers in accordance with their instructions;
3. discontinue all services provided, including the custody and administration of crypto-assets.
VASPs registered in the OAM register must, in any case, publish on their website and provide customers with adequate information on the plans and measures they intend to adopt to comply with Micar or, alternatively, for the orderly closure of existing relationships.

Press release PDF version

Rome, 4 December 2025

Watch for Scams! Abusive financial services: Consob blacks out 6 abusive websites

Consob ordered the blocking of six websites that illegally offered financial services or promoted advertising campaigns for unauthorized trading platforms.

Among the blocked sites, https://paladinoselegancia.com, through which an advertising campaign was carried out concerning an abusive brokerage platform, including through the improper reference to public figures, such as journalist Sigfrido Ranucci, host of Report on RaiTre. The other five blocked sites on which the Authority intervened were illegally offering financial intermediation services.

Consob draws investors' attention to the evolution of fraudulent practices that exploit the internet and social media to steal users' money and personal data. Today, fraudulent operators use sophisticated tools, such as cloned messages and websites, fake profiles of famous people, and content generated by artificial intelligence systems - such as images, voices, or videos - with the aim of luring investors into a trap.

Below are the websites Consob has ordered to be blacked out:
- “Mrx Capital Trading” (website https://mrxcapitaltrading.co and related page https://trading-area.mrxwebtrading.co);
- “FtseWebTrader” (website www.ftsetradeai.com and related pages https://client.ftsetradeai.com and https://webtrader.ftsetradeai.com);
- “Aurora Trade Limited” (website https://aurora-trade.io and related page https://cfd.aurora-trade.io);
- “Horizon Options247” (website https://horizonoption247.com);
- “Aitrade24” (website https://aitrade24.net and related page https://webtrader.aitrade24.net);
- “https://paladinoselegancia.com - Bitplex”.
The number of websites blacked out since July 2019, when Consob got the power to order that the websites of fraudulent financial intermediaries be blacked out, has thus risen to 1496.

Consob reiterates the importance of exercising the utmost diligence in order to make fully informed investment choices, calling on investors to adopt common sense behaviors that are essential for safeguarding their savings: these include checking in advance, for websites offering financial services and crypto-assets, that the operator through which you are investing is authorized and, for offers of financial products and crypto-assets, that the prospectus or white paper has been published. The website www.consob.it has a section on its homepage entitled “Watch for Scams!”, which provides useful information to warn investors against abusive financial initiatives.

Consob availed itself of the powers deriving from the "Decreto crescita" ("Growth Decree" Law no. 58 of 28 June 2019, Article no. 36, paragraph 2-terdecies), relating to the black-out of the sites of abusive financial intermediaries, as well as the powers introduced by the “Legge Capitali” (“Capital Law”, Law No. 21 of March 5, 2024) regarding the blocking of websites used to carry out advertising campaigns for illegal brokerage platforms. The measures adopted by Consob can be consulted on the website www.consob.it.

Internet service providers operating in Italy are currently blocking access to the websites. For technical reasons, it may take a few days for the block to take effect.

Press release PDF version

Rome, 27 November 2025

Watch for Scams! Abusive financial services: Consob blocks 8 websites offering illegal financial services

Consob has ordered the blackout of 8 new websites that offer financial services/financial products illegally or through which services are unlawfully provided for crypto-assets: 3 illegal financial intermediation websites, 1 website through which an offer of financial products is carried out in the absence of a prospectus and 4 websites through which illegal services for crypto assets are provided.

The Authority availed itself of the powers deriving from the "Decreto crescita" ("Growth Decree" Law no. 58 of 28 June 2019, Article no. 36, paragraph 2-terdecies), relating to the black-out of the sites of abusive financial intermediaries, as well as the powers introduced by MiCAR (Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 and Legislative Decree No. 129 of 5 September 2024) regarding the blocking of websites through which crypto-asset services are provided to Italian savers without the required authorizations.

Below are the websites Consob has ordered to be blacked out:
- "Forex Elite Academy Limited - Trade and Merchant Trust Limited" (website https://eliteforex.co and related page https://my.eliteforex.co);
- "Nexus500" (website www.nexus500.net);
- "Aventus Consultancy Ltd" (website https://avenconsultancy.com);
- "Venture Capital Funds Limited" (website www.venture-funds.ltd);
- "Niufo" (website www.niufo.co);
- "AlphaCapital" (websites https://alpha-capital.finance and related page https://cfd.alpha-capital.finance);
- "Cryptoin24" (websites https://cryptoin24.io, https://cryptoin24.com and related pages https://clients.cryptoin24.com and https://trading.cryptoin24.com).
The number of websites blacked out since July 2019, when Consob got the power to order that the websites of fraudulent financial intermediaries be blacked out, has thus risen to 1490.

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 blackout 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 and crypto assets, whether the prospectus or 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 abusive initiatives.

Press release PDF version

Rome, 21 November 2025

Watch for Scams! Abusive financial services: Consob blocks four websites offering illegal financial services

Consob has ordered the blackout of 4 new websites promoting or providing financial services illegally.

The Authority availed itself of the powers deriving from the "Decreto crescita" ("Growth Decree"; Law no. 58 of 28 June 2019, Article no. 36, paragraph 2-terdecies), on the basis of which Consob can order Internet service providers to block access from Italy to websites offering financial services without the proper authorization.

Below are the websites Consob has ordered to be blacked out:

- "EFT24" (website https://eft24.co and related pages https://my.eft24.co and https://tradingapi.chartingio.tech);

- "Nova Trade Core" (website www.novatradecore.com and related page https://platform.novatradecore.com);

- "Argusstockbrokers.com" (website https://argusstockbrokers.com and related page https://client.argusstockbrokers.com);

- "Gf-limited" (website https://gf-limited.com and related page https://user.gf-limited.com).

The number of websites blacked out since July 2019, when Consob got the power to order that the websites of fraudulent financial intermediaries be blacked out, has thus risen to 1482.

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 blackout 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 behaviours, 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 and crypto assets, whether the prospectus or 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.

Press release PDF version

Rome, 13 November 2025

New action by Consob against websites that improperly exploited the image and references to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Minister of Economy Giancarlo Giorgetti to illegally offer and advertise investment services and activities - A total of 14 websites blacked-out

New intervention by Consob to black-out “clone sites” spreading counterfeit videos, apparently referring to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Minister of Economy Giancarlo Giorgetti.

The blocking (resolutions no. 23738 and no. 23739 of 5 November 2025) referred to the website https://avenixio-invest.com (in addition to the websites https://avenixio.com, https://avenixio.org, https://avenixio.it, https://avenixio.vip), which ‘cloned’ the image of Prime Minister Meloni, and the website https://tegsub.com, which replicated that of Minister Giorgetti to promote the ‘Avenixio’ online trading platforms.

In particular, by means of a modus operandi already disclosed in recent months (with the relevant measures adopted in May and October 2025), the ‘clone’ of the Minister publicized investment services provided through abusive trading platforms through fake interviews apparently given to leading television programs.

Consob's intervention - to protect investors and institutional figures who were unduly involved, despite being completely unrelated to the matter - was carried out by exercising the powers deriving from the “Growth Decree” (converted by Law No. 58 of 28 June, 2019) and the “Capital Law” (No. 21 of 5 March, 2024).

At the same time, Consob also blacked-out 8 other websites for illegal financial intermediation activities.

Below are the websites that Consob has ordered to be blacked-out:
- “D2XMarkets” (website https://d2xmarkets.com and related pages https://clientzone.d2xmarkets.com and https://wt.d2xmarkets.com);
- “Easy MarketsEU Limited” (website https://easymarketscfd.org and related pages https://panel.mxd23.com, https://trading.mxd23.com);
- VT Markets Limited (website www.vtmarkets-it.net and related page https://myaccount.vtmarkets-it.net);
- FPM Trading (website https://fpmtrading.com and related page https://portal.fpmtrading.com);
- “ITALGO.AI” (website https://italgo.ai and related page https://app.italgo.ai);
- “Comgestfx” (website https://comgestfx.com.com and related page https://my.plat4mxm.com);
- “Progestrade” (website https://progestrade.com and related page https://client.progestrade.com);
- “Renaitech AI” (website https://premiumrenaitech-ai.vip and related page https://app.premiumrenaitech-ai.vip).
The number of websites blacked-out since July 2019, when Consob got the power to order that the websites of fraudulent financial intermediaries be blacked out, has thus risen to 1478.

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 blackout 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 behaviours, 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 and crypto assets, whether the prospectus or 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.

Press release PDF version

Rome, 6 November 2025

Managed portfolios and deposits at their highest levels in mid-2025 - The latest Consob Bulletin provides a snapshot of the volume of financial instruments in the portfolios and deposits of supervised intermediaries

The volume of financial instruments in portfolios and deposits held by supervised intermediaries continues to grow. As at 30 June 2025, the total value reached a new peak of €4,220 billion, up 3.7% from €4,068 billion at the end of December 2024.

This is according to the latest Statistical Bulletin on Intermediaries, published today by Consob. The mid-2025 figure is the highest since the Italian financial markets regulator began collecting data in 2010.

Growth is mainly driven by Italian equities (+6.2%), Italian government bonds (+3.2%) and investment funds (+3%).

In the first half of 2025, investment services also increased. In particular, compared to the first half of 2024, proprietary trading (+24.8%), the placement of financial instruments (+11.8%) and order execution (+6.8%) all rose. Gross premiums for insurance products with financial content grew strongly (+24.2%), driven by unit-linked policies (+26.1%). On the other hand, the receipt and transmission of orders declined slightly (-3%).

The positive trend also affected assets under management by supervised intermediaries, which rose to €1,641 billion at the end of June 2025 (+1.2% compared to the end of 2024). Growth was sustained by individual asset management (+1.4%) and Italian open-ended funds (+1.7%), which recorded total inflows of €8.6 billion in the first half of the year. The boost came in particular from bond funds (+€10.6 billion) and money market funds (+€1.9 billion), which more than offset outflows from equity, flexible and speculative funds.

Despite a general increase in the volume of activities related to financial intermediation services, profits for asset management companies (SGRs) and investment firms (SIMs) declined. SGRs closed the first half of 2025 at 823 million, down 31 million compared to the same period last year. The increase in net commissions (85 million) did not offset the growth in operating costs (41.1 million) and taxes (9.3 million). The situation was the same for SIMs: net profits of 54.4 million were down by approximately 7 million, again due to the increase in operating costs (+19.3 million) and the reduction in net commissions (-1.6 million). For asset management companies, the overall picture remains solid, despite a slight decline in profits, while for SIMs, the balance sheet indicators point to a more variable and less favourable efficiency and profitability profile.

Press release PDF version

Rome, 5 November 2025

List of Board Members, Consob gives green light to regulatory changes

Consob gives green light to amendments to the Issuers' Regulations (Resolution No. 23725 of 29 October 2025 - Explanatory report on the results of the second consultation) concerning the submission of lists by outgoing boards of directors, in implementation of the provisions of the Consolidated Law on Finance (TUF) introduced by the Capital Law.

The regulatory changes were adopted at the end of a decision-making process that went through two stages of consultation with the market. The second consultation, like the first, attracted considerable interest from operators. In light of the need that emerged to clarify the scope and extent of the regulatory powers delegated by the TUF to the Authority only in general terms, Consob obtained an interpretative opinion from the Council of State.

Following the above process, the Issuers' Regulation intervenes, in particular, on the second vote on individual candidates required if the list of the Board of Directors obtained the highest number of votes in the first vote, as well as on the allocation of seats on the board to minority shareholders in the case provided for in Article 147-ter.1, paragraph 3, letter b) of the TUF.

The new provisions will enter into force on the day following their publication in the Official Gazette of the Italian Republic.

Press release PDF version

Rome, 4 November 2025

Watch for Scams! Abusive financial services: Consob blocks five websites offering illegal financial services

Consob has ordered the blackout of 5 new websites promoting or providing financial services illegally.

The Authority availed itself of the powers deriving from the “Decreto crescita” ("Growth Decree"; Law no. 58 of 28 June 2019, Article no. 36, paragraph 2-terdecies), on the basis of which Consob can order Internet service providers to block access from Italy to websites offering financial services without the proper authorization.

Below are the websites Consob has ordered to be blacked out:
- Ghost Global Limited (website https://ghostgloballtd.com and related page https://cab.ghostglbltd.com);
- “Di-Fi Global” e “Connect Global” (website https://di-figlobal.info and related page https://webtrader.di-figlobal.info);
- MT4 Market Consulting (website https://mt4markets.com and related page https://client.mt4markets.com);
- “TradeIn24” (website https://tradein24.com and related pages https://clients.tradein24.com and https://trading.tradein24.com);
- “Quintus Trade” (website www.quintustrade.com and related pages https://client.quintustrade.com and https://trade.quintustrade.com).
The number of websites blacked out since July 2019, when Consob got the power to order that the websites of fraudulent financial intermediaries be blacked out, has thus risen to 1465.

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 blackout 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 and crypto assets, whether the prospectus or 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.

Press release PDF version

Rome, 30 October 2025

Watch for “pump&dump”! New Consob warning on the risks of scams that manipulate prices on financial markets

Never trust strangers, especially if they promise easy money via social media and WhatsApp. Following many complaints from defrauded investors, Consob has issued a new warning, this time about pump&dump schemes: beware of investment tips that come through informal channels such as messaging apps. Behind profiles presenting themselves as analysts, financial operators, or even prominent Consob representatives, there are subjects promoting the purchase of penny stocks, low-cost shares of small companies, mainly Chinese or American, listed on the Nasdaq, promising easy money with outstanding returns in a short time.

In fact, these subjects already hold a significant amount of the shares in question and coordinate the purchases of unwary participants via WhatsApp groups, often asking for a screenshot as proof of the transaction. The goal is to artificially inflate the stock price (pump), then massively sell their shares (dump), making a profit but causing a sudden collapse in the stock price to the damage of the investors involved, who suffer heavy losses.

Consob points out that pump&dump schemes can also occur in the trading of crypto-assets.

Consob urges investors to recognize the warning signs: unsolicited messages or emails; invitations to join investment groups; references to high returns in a short time; pressure to act immediately or requests for personal data and screenshots.

The Commission also reminds investors of the importance of always verifying the reliability of sources, by consulting also the “Watch for Scams!” section on the www.consob.it website, where useful information is available to help avoid falling into financial traps.

Prevention is essential in these cases, not least because deceptive schemes involving securities not listed on EU markets leave investors without the protection of EU market abuse rules.

Finally, Consob draws the attention of those who disseminate false or misleading communications, including through pump&dump schemes, to the possible consequences they face under the regulations in force in the relevant jurisdictions (such as the United States) and to the criminal consequences that may arise in cases of fraud.

Press release PDF version

Rome, 28 October 2025

Watch for Scams! Abusive financial services: Consob blacks out 17 abusive websites

Consob has ordered the blackout of 17 new websites through which services relating to financial instruments are unlawfully offered or services relating to crypto-assets are unlawfully provided. In particular, Consob ordered the black out of 7 illegal financial intermediation websites and 10 websites through which illegal services for crypto assets are provided.

The Authority availed itself of the powers deriving from the "Decreto crescita" ("Growth Decree", converted by Law No. 58 of 28 June 2019), relating to the black-out of websites of abusive financial intermediaries, as well as the powers introduced by MiCAR (Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 and Legislative Decree No. 129 of 5 September 2024) regarding the blocking of websites through which crypto-asset services are provided to Italian savers without the required authorizations.

Below are the websites Consob has ordered to be blacked out:

- "Activ Markets" (websites https://activ-markets.com and https://activma.org and related pages https://client.activ-markets.com and https://webtrader.acmarkets-webtraderplatform.com);

- "Geneveinves" (website www.geneveinves.com);

- "NordaLeur" (website www.nordalueur.com and related page https://webtrader.tplatform-cengine.com);

- "Soria Limited" (website https://soria-limited-ltd.com and related page https://inv.sorialimited.com);

- "MRX Capital Trading" (website www.mrxcapitaltrading.com and related page https://trading-area.mrxwebtrading.com);

- "Gradiopexo" (website https://gradiopexo.com and related page https://webtrader.expedit-snow.com);

- "RYR888" (website https://ryr888.it);

- "DFH258" (website https://dfh258.it);

- "DXZ175" (website https://dxz175.it);

- "JMY999" (website https://jmy999.it);

"DSG158" (website https://dsg158.it);

- "WES218" (website https://wes218.it);

- "GJG258" (website https://gjg258.it);

- "CFSD123" (website https://cfsd123.it);

- "R4MOX" (website https://r4mox.it);

- "DFG789" (website https://dfg789.it).

The number of websites blacked out since July 2019, when Consob got the power to order that the websites of fraudulent financial intermediaries be blacked out, has thus risen to 1460.

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 blackout 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 behaviours, essential to safeguard their savings: these include prior verification, for websites offering financial services and crypto-assets, that the operator through which the investment is made is authorized and, for offers of financial products and crypto-assets, that the prospectus or 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.

Press release PDF version

Rome, 23 October 2025

"Cloned" politicians and illegal services on crypto-assets and financial instruments - Meloni, Salvini, Schlein, and Calenda: Consob blocks three websites promoting scam ads - Further 14 irregular web addresses also blocked

They "cloned" the faces and voices of well-known politicians to illegally offer services for crypto-assets and investments. Consob ordered the black out of three websites that used scam ads to promote the initiatives of entities not authorized to provide investment and crypto-asset services, leveraging the notoriety of leading figures in the Italian institutional world, such as Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, and Elly Schlein and Carlo Calenda, who were completely unconnected with the matter.

Specifically, following the measures already implemented, the Authority prohibited promotional activities on the websites https://it-more.culinaryjoy.sbs, https://ayquozeber.com, and https://cyberirfy.icu, which promoted online platforms through which crypto-asset or investment services were provided illegally.

The Commission also ordered the black out of a further 14 websites that were illegally offering the same services. Specifically, the blocked sites are as follows:

- "InvestiumGroups" (website https://investiumgroupsltd.com and pages https://client.investiumgroupsltd.com);

- "Protradealliance" (website https://protradealliance.com);

- "Aureo Flowdex" (website https://aureo-flowdex.com);

- "Servelius" (website https://servelius.com and page https://webtrader.glarings-armorier.com);

- "BrokerageAI" – "it-more.culinaryjoy.sbs" (website https://brokerageai.org, related pages https://client.brokerageai.org and https://webtrader.brokerageai.org, and promotional website https://it-more.culinaryjoy.sbs);

- "ZZCoin" (website https://zzcoingy.com);

- "Ofuyc" (websites www.ofuyc.com, www.ofuyc-32516it.com, www.ofuyc-55337it.com, www.ofuyc-23166it.com, www.ofuyc-33111it.com, and www.ofuyc-83255it.com);

- "Veltrixmax-invest.com" – "Ayquozeber.com" (website https://veltrixmax-invest.com and promotional website https://ayquozeber.com);

- "Orolonix-invest.com" – "Cyberirfy.icu" (website https://orolonix-invest.com and promotional website https://cyberirfy.icu).

The number of websites blacked out since July 2019, when Consob got the power to order that the websites of fraudulent financial intermediaries be blacked out, has thus risen to 1443.

The Authority availed itself of the powers deriving from the "Decreto crescita" ("Growth Decree" Law no. 58 of 28 June 2019, Article no. 36, paragraph 2-terdecies), relating to the black-out of the sites of abusive financial intermediaries, as well as the powers introduced by MiCAR (Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 and Legislative Decree No. 129 of 5 September 2024) regarding the blocking of websites through which crypto-asset services are provided to Italian savers without the required authorizations.

The measures adopted by Consob can be consulted on the website www.consob.it .

Internet connectivity providers operating in Italy are currently working to block access to the websites. For technical reasons, it may take a few days for the block to take effect.

Consob draws investors' attention to the importance of exercising the utmost diligence in order to make fully informed investment choices, adopting common sense behaviours that are essential for safeguarding their savings: among these, for websites offering investment and crypto-asset services, prior verification that the operator through which you are investing is authorized and, for offers of financial products and crypto-assets, that the prospectus or white paper has been published.

To this end, Consob reminds investors that the homepage of the website www.consob.it features a section entitled "Watch for Scams!" which provides useful information to warn investors against abusive financial initiatives.

Press release PDF version

Rome, 16 October 2025

Watch for Scams! Abusive financial services: Consob blacks out 13 abusive websites

Consob has ordered the blackout of 13 new websites that offer financial services/financial products illegally or through which illegal services are provided. In particular, Consob ordered the black out of 5 illegal financial intermediation websites and 8 websites through which illegal services for crypto assets are provided.

The Authority availed itself of the powers deriving from the "Decreto crescita" ("Growth Decree" Law no. 58 of 28 June 2019, Article no. 36, paragraph 2-terdecies), relating to the black-out of the sites of abusive financial intermediaries, as well as the powers introduced by MiCAR (Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 and Legislative Decree No. 129 of 5 September 2024) regarding the blocking of websites through which crypto-asset services are provided to Italian savers without the required authorizations.

Below are the websites Consob has ordered to be blacked out:
- “Stockwisse” (website https://stockwiseprofit.com and pages https://clientzone.stockwiseprofit.com and https://webtrader.stockwiseprofit.com);
- “Hyper Trades” (website https://hyper-trades.pro and related page https://trade.hyper-trades.pro);
- “Arti4Trades” (websites https://arti4trades.com and https://arti4trades.net and page https://client.arti4trades.com);
- “Lirunefx” (website https://lirunefx.com and page https://client.lirunefx.com);
- “NETWORK CAPITAL LTD” (website https://network-capital-partners.com and page https://web.networkcapital-partnersltd.com);
- “Lucrumiagroup.co” (website https://lucrumiagroup.co);
- “Dobibo” (website https://dbbddrb.com);
- “Jzmor” (websites www.jzmor.com, www.jzmor-it57659.com, www.jzmor-it33583.com, www.jzmor-it99518.com and www.jzmor-it52337.com).
The number of websites blacked out since July 2019, when Consob got the power to order that the websites of fraudulent financial intermediaries be blacked out, has thus risen to 1426.

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 blackout 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 and crypto assets,

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.

Press release PDF version

Rome, 10 October 2025

Consob simplifies the process of listing investment funds in Italy

Improving the attractiveness and competitiveness of the Italian financial market and aligning national regulations with those of other European Union countries. This is the main objective of Resolution No. 23683 of 1 October 2025, with which Consob facilitates and simplifies the listing of investment funds in Italy.

Specifically, with reference to Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), the Authority has removed the requirement to draft and publish the listing document for European undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS) and reserved open-ended alternative investment funds (AIFs) managed by European companies in Italy.

The measure also introduced some changes to the appendix to the regulatory framework governing the information to be included in the prospectus in the event of admission to trading of Italian open-ended funds (OICRs, collective investment undertakings).

Consob's decision takes into account the results of the market consultation, which ended on 12 July 2025, in which the majority of participants responded favourably to the simplification proposals presented.

The amendments will enter into force on the day following the date of publication of the resolution in the Official Gazette and will also apply to listing procedures in progress on that date.

Press release PDF version

Rome, 7 October 2025

Crypto-assets: few safeguards and high risks - The three European financial supervisory authorities issue a warning to protect consumers - An information campaign is launched to promote informed investment choices

Buying crypto-assets, such as cryptocurrencies or stablecoins, exposes savers to high risks in a sector where legal protections, when they exist, are very limited.

This is the main message that the European financial supervisory authorities - ESMA for stock exchanges and financial markets, EBA for banks and EIOPA for insurance and pension funds - wanted to reiterate, addressing savers in all EU countries.

To raise public awareness of these issues, the three authorities have launched an information campaign consisting of a warning, an 'information sheet', a podcast and a video. The aim is to promote informed investment choices and thus counteract the risk of falling into the trap of financial scams and losing money.

The Authorities recognise that financial innovation, including crypto-assets, can help improve the competitiveness, efficiency and resilience of financial markets. However, in light of the growing interest of the general public in the world of crypto-assets, driven in part by aggressive campaigns on social media, the Authorities point out that the purchase of crypto-assets is not suitable for everyone and therefore urge caution.

In particular, the joint warning, which Consob is relaunching as a member of ESMA, points out that only some of the crypto-assets in circulation on the market fall within the scope of the new European regulations on crypto-assets (Micar), in force since December 2024. The information made available to investors for this type of product may be sparse and insufficient. Furthermore, in the event of losses, EU legislation provides more limited protection for those who purchase crypto-assets than for traditional investments.

When a saver comes across an offer of crypto-assets, they must first understand what type of crypto-asset is being offered to ensure that the offer falls within the scope of MiCAR. In particular, the warning invites savers to ask themselves three questions: 1) whether they are aware of the risks they are exposed to and whether it is appropriate to take them in light of their financial situation; 2) whether the operators they come into contact with are authorised to provide crypto-asset services in EU countries; 3) whether the electronic devices used for purchasing, storing or transferring are secure.

Finally, the three authorities emphasise that protection for savers in the event of losses is not as extensive as that provided for traditional financial products, for example, there are no compensation schemes.

Press release PDF version

Rome, 6 October 2025

Abusive financial services: Consob blacks out 5 websites and requests the removal of 2 mobile applications used to provide illegal financial services

Consob has ordered the black-out of 5 new websites providing financial services illegally.

The Authority availed itself of the powers deriving from the “Decreto crescita” ("Growth Decree"; Law no. 58 of 28 June 2019, Article no. 36, paragraph 2-terdecies), on the basis of which Consob can order Internet service providers to block access from Italy to websites offering financial services without the proper authorization.

Below are the websites Consob has ordered to be blacked out:
- VT Markets Limited (website www.vtmarketsit.com and related pages https://myaccount.vtmarketsit.com and https://social.vt-academy.net);
- “Aitrade24” (website https://aitrade24.com and related page https://webtrader.aitrade24.com);
- “Telarax” (website https://telarax.io e page https://webtrader.resembox-grey.com);
- “TheToroGlobal” (website https://thetoro-global.com and related page https://client.thetoro-global.com);
- “Eurotradecfd” (website https://eurotradecfd.com and related page https://client.eurotradecfd.com).
The number of websites blacked out since July 2019, when Consob got the power to order that the websites of fraudulent financial intermediaries be blacked out, has thus risen to 1413.

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 blackout to come into effect.

Furthermore, Consob asked Google and Apple to remove, with regard to the Italian market, from their respective distribution platforms the mobile applications linked to “Eurotradecfd,” called “Solve Smart” (for Android operating systems) and “4X News” (for iOS operating systems), through which financial services are offered illegally.

Consob draws investors' attention to the importance of adopting the greatest diligence to make informed investment choices, adopting common sense behaviors, essential to safeguard their savings: these include prior verification, for websites offering financial services and crypto-assets, that the operator through which the investment is made is authorized and, for financial and crypto-asset product offerings, that the prospectus or 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.

Press release PDF version

Rome, 2 October 2025

Watch for scams! Financial fraud: Consob blacks out 9 unauthorised websites

Consob has ordered the blackout of 9 new websites that offer financial services/financial products illegally or through which illegal services are provided: 6 illegal financial intermediation websites, 1 website through which an offer of financial products is carried out in the absence of a prospectus and 2 websites through which illegal services for crypto assets are provided.

The Authority availed itself of the powers deriving from the "Decreto crescita" ("Growth Decree" Law no. 58 of 28 June 2019, Article no. 36, paragraph 2-terdecies), relating to the black-out of the sites of abusive financial intermediaries, as well as the powers introduced by MiCAR (Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 and Legislative Decree No. 129 of 5 September 2024) regarding the blocking of websites through which crypto-asset services are provided to Italian savers without the required authorizations.

Below are the websites Consob has ordered to be blacked out:

- "Spreadmarkets" (website https://spread-markets.com and related page https://client.spread-markets.com);

- "BitVex" (website https://bit-vex.com);

- "Financexlimited" (website https://finance-xlimited.com and related page https://client.finance-xlimited.com);

- "Finco Trades" (website https://finco-trades.org and related page https://web.webfin-trades.org);

- "Geneve Capital Invest" (website https://geneveinvesting.com and related page https://webtrader.geneveinvestingmarkets.com);

- "Afex Markets" (website https://afex-markets.com and related page https://web-traderx.com);

- "Spazio Finanziario" (website www.spaziofinanziario.pro and related page https://clients.spaziofinanziario.pro);

- "Ynln.com" (website www.ynln.com);

- Bit Vanetta Limited (website https://thebitvanettatrade.com).

The number of websites blacked out since July 2019, when Consob got the power to order that the websites of fraudulent financial intermediaries be blacked out, has thus risen to 1048.

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 blackout 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 and crypto assets, whether the prospectus or 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 abusive initiatives.

Press release PDF version

Rome, 25 September 2025

Beware of scams! Watch out for fake websites using the ACF logo! In recent days, portals that replicated the contents of the Financial Disputes Arbitrator

The Financial Disputes Arbitrator (ACF), the body set up by Consob for the out-of-court settlement of disputes between intermediaries and savers, warns of the risk of possible scams perpetrated by unknown individuals through portals/websites that illegally replicate the ACF logo and content.

In this regard, please note that the ACF portal is only accessible via this link: https://www.acf.consob.it/.

Any portals or websites with addresses other than the one indicated above are not in any way related to the ACF or Consob. In recent days, several portals that improperly replicated that of the ACF have been detected and immediately blocked.

Please note that under no circumstances the ACF ask for credit card or bank account numbers, nor will it request payments of any kind.

We recommend that you exercise the utmost caution and report any unusual requests to the ACF by emailing info.acf@consob.it or calling 06.8477850.

Press release PDF version

Rome, 19 September 2025

Watch for scams! Financial fraud: Consob blacks out 10 unauthorised websites

Consob has ordered the black-out of 10 new websites offering illegal services for crypto-assets.

The Authority used the powers introduced by the MiCAR regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 and Legislative Decree no. 129 of 5 September 2024) regarding the blackout of the websites through which crypto-asset services are provided to Italian savers without the prescribed authorisations.

Below are the sites Consob has ordered to be blacked out:
- “YTT975” (website https://ytt975.it);
- “YQZ585” (website https://yqz585.it);
- “EWQ778” (website https://ewq778.it);
- “AWE818” (website https://awe818.it);
- “GRT325” (website https://grt325.it);
- “TUT551” (website https://tut551.it);
- “SFS854” (website https://sfs854.it);
- “12DEF” (website https://12def.it);
- “YTH937” (website https://yth937.it);
- “C7VIZ” (website https://c7viz.it).
The number of sites blacked out since July 2019, when Consob was given the power to order the black-out of websites of fraudulent financial intermediaries, has thus risen to 1399.

The measures adopted by Consob can be consulted on its website at 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 behaviours, essential to safeguard one's savings: these include, for websites that offer financial services and crypto-assets, checking in advance that the operator with whom you are investing is authorised, and, for offers of financial products and crypto-assets, that a prospectus or white paper has been published.

Please note, there is a section on the homepage of the website at www.consob.it, entitled "Watch for Scams!", which provides useful information warning investors about fraudulent financial schemes.

Press release PDF version

Rome, 17 September 2025

Memorandum of understanding between Consob and Agcm for collaboration in areas of mutual interest

The document defines the framework for cooperation between the two institutions. The aim is to pursue more effective action in areas relating to their respective spheres of activity and mutual interest.

The Chairman of the National Commission for Companies and the Stock Exchange, Paolo Savona, and the Chairman of the Italian Competition Authority, Roberto Rustichelli, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding that defines the framework for cooperation between the two institutions. The agreement aims to pursue more effective action by the two authorities in areas relating to their respective spheres of activity and common interest through the coordination of their interventions.

In particular, Consob and Agcm will cooperate by exchanging reports where, in the context of proceedings falling within their respective competences, there are indications of violations of rules that are also relevant to the other Authority. In addition, they will periodically exchange information on general lines of action and activities carried out in the exercise of their respective powers. Consob and Antitrust may also collaborate by conducting joint fact-finding investigations and preparing joint reports to Parliament and the Government on matters of common interest. Finally, the two Authorities may consult each other in the context of investigations initiated under the relevant regulations.

To carry out and coordinate activities of common interest, a Technical Committee will be set up - composed of the heads of the offices responsible for the matters dealt with - which will meet whenever deemed appropriate. In addition to issues relating to the activities of the two institutions, the Technical Committee will also examine technical aspects relating to the implementation, amendment, and integration of the MoU.

Under the MoU, which has a duration of three years, Consob and Agcm also undertake to organize training activities and to collaborate in the development of shared solutions, including on issues related to artificial intelligence and crypto-assets.

Press release PDF version

Rome, 16 September 2025

The Italian, French and Austrian markets authorities call for a stronger European framework for crypto-asset markets

Leveraging on the experience of the first few months of implementing the Mica Regulation, three major European market authorities, the Italian Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (Consob), the French Autorité des Marchés Financiers (Amf), the Austrian Finanzmarktaufsichtsbehörde (Fma), are putting forward proposals aimed at ensuring a more effective supervision of crypto-asset markets, strengthening the competitiveness of European market participants and providing better investor protection.

In application since 30 December 2024, the European Mica Regulation represents a major step forward in the regulation of the crypto-assets market in Europe, placing it at the forefront of the supervision of this new asset class. It imposes a clear framework and requires market participants wishing to offer crypto-asset related services in Europe to obtain prior authorisation for this.

However, despite the coordination efforts of the European Securities and Markets Authority (Esma), the first few months of application of the Regulation have revealed major differences in how crypto-markets are being supervised by national authorities. These differences highlight the need to quickly strengthen the supervisory architecture to ensure the proper functioning of the European internal market. In the absence of such a revision, national authorities hosting market participants authorised by another authority could be forced to resort to the precautionary measures provided for by the Regulation in order to prevent any risk for national investors. In addition, certain provisions do not provide sufficient protection against the risks specific to the sector, such as for example the access by European intermediaries to platforms situated outside the European Union without the protection offered by Mica. These risks undermine investor protection and by this way also jeopardise the competitiveness of European market participants.

To ensure consistent and effective application of the Mica Regulation, Consob, Amf and Fma are calling for a number of targeted changes, not least with a view to further closely align with recommendations made in the field by the Financial Stability Board (Fsb) and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (Iosco) in July and November 2023.

Consob, Amf and Fma have put forward four proposals for improvements. These proposals, which are not exhaustive in terms of the issues raised by the application of the current Mica Regulation, for instance with regard to so-called “stablecoins”, include:
- direct supervision by Esma of the major crypto-asset service providers to ensure uniform application of the rules to the benefit of more effective oversight. This would be the only way to avoid opportunistic choices between countries for authorisation and may also lead to reduced supervision costs;
- strengthening of rules for platforms operating outside the European Union but targeting European investors: today, Consob Amf, Fma and note that some platforms established outside the European Union reach European clients through intermediaries that have a crypto-asset service provider status. The three authorities therefore propose that any intermediary that executes orders on crypto-assets should do so on a platform that complies with Mica or equivalent regulations;
- better supervision of platforms to tackle cyber risk: given the very high level of cyber risk today, Consob, Amf and Fma stress the importance for market participants to undergo an independent cyber security audit prior to the granting of a Mica authorisation, as well as its periodic renewal. This audit would encompass asset protection, resilience to cyber-attacks and incident management. This measure would ensure greater security for crypto-asset markets and boost investor confidence;
- clarification of the scrutiny process on white papers and the possible creation of a single access point for the filing and management of token offerings (excluding stablecoins): this proposal aims at adding legal certainty to the phase of analysis of white papers while promoting additional centralisation of filings in connection with the pan-European reach of most offerings.
Find out more:

Position paper

Press release PDF version

15 September 2025

Sustainable finance: Artificial Intelligence to combat greenwashing. Consob and the University of Trento develop a prototype to detect misleading messages about "green bonds". The project is outlined in the latest Fintech Research Paper

Artificial Intelligence vs. greenwashing: this is the project launched by Consob and the University of Trento, which have jointly developed a prototype for detecting misleading messages from green bond issuers. The goal is to develop new tools to be used in the future in financial market supervision activities to verify that the sustainability requirements claimed by corporate "green" bonds are actually met.

The project is described in the Consob Fintech Research Paper Greenwashing Alert System for EU Green Bonds: the Consob-University of Trento prototype, published today on the website www.consob.it, edited by Sandra Paterlini and Andrea Nicolodi (University of Trento) and Monica Gentile, Vincenzo Foglia Manzillo, Maria Raffaella Sancilio, and Paola Deriu (Consob).

The paper, which is in English, uses "green bonds" issued in European Union countries from 2013 to 2023 as its reference database. The prototype uses advanced technologies to disclose environmental claims within texts, analyze their tone (positive, neutral, or critical), and highlight any discrepancies between stated sustainability targets and actual performance.

The project is a major step forward in supporting supervisory activities to make document analysis faster and more effective, reducing the risk of errors or subjective interpretations. The study highlights considerable time savings: for example, compared to the approximately four hours required to analyze a sustainability report using traditional methods, the algorithm takes about ten minutes. While this prototype still needs further testing on a broader sample, it is a first step towards more transparent and responsible finance, where technology empowers sustainability.

Combating greenwashing aims to bolster investor confidence, market integrity, and support the transition to a sustainable economy. This is a key priority of Consob's Strategic Plan for 2025–2027. Within the EU, this view is fully shared by ESMA.

Press release PDF version

4 August 2025

Watch for scams! Financial fraud: Consob blacks out 8 unauthorised websites

Consob has ordered the black-out of 8 new websites offering illegal services for crypto-assets.

The Authority used the powers introduced by the MiCAR regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 and Legislative Decree no. 129 of 5 September 2024) regarding the blackout of the websites through which crypto-asset services are provided to Italian savers without the prescribed authorisations.

Below are the sites Consob has ordered to be blacked out:
- "YUI236" (website https://yui236.it);
- "DRST78" (website https://drst78.it);
- "GDY733" (website https://gdy733.it);
- "XUR652" (website https://xur652.it);
- "YZA335" (website https://yza335.it);
- "BHP536" (website https://bhp536.it);
- "MJU567" (website https://mju567.it);
- "TNT788" (website https://tnt788.it).
The number of sites blacked out since July 2019, when Consob was given the power to order the black-out of websites of fraudulent financial intermediaries, has thus risen to 1389.

The measures adopted by Consob can be consulted on its website at 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 behaviours, essential to safeguard one's savings: these include, for websites that offer financial services and crypto-assets, checking in advance that the operator with whom you are investing is authorised, and, for offers of financial products and crypto-assets, that a prospectus or white paper has been published.

Please note, there is a section on the homepage of the website at www.consob.it, entitled "Watch for Scams!", which provides useful information warning investors about fraudulent financial schemes.

Press release PDF version

Rome, 31 July 2025

Consob blocks the "up to 300%" return scam - Consob takes action against the CapFirst and CapOne apps: Google and Apple are asked to remove the apps from their respective online stores - New warning to investors about the risks associated with investment proposals sent via WhatsApp

They promised returns of "up to 300%" via WhatsApp. Downloading the CapFirst app from Google Play or CapOne from the Apple Store to your smartphone, opening a trading account, and accessing the exciting world of easy triple-digit returns was all it took. But it was all a dream, or rather, a scam. To stop it, Consob intervened, ordering the cessation of unauthorised financial intermediation activities and asking Google and Apple to remove the apps used for the scam from their stores (resolution no. 23651 of 30 July 2025).

Consob has issued a new warning to investors regarding the risks of investment proposals circulating in WhatsApp groups and chats. It has also blocked abusive investment schemes promoted on WhatsApp by self-proclaimed financial experts, presumably operating under aliases, who falsely claimed to be authorised by Consob.

In this specific case, the scam involved promising sky-high returns, even triple-digit ones, that investors could supposedly achieve by following instructions given to them on WhatsApp by self-proclaimed experts and by trading on the financial markets through two apps available on Google Play and the Apple Store, namely CapFirst (for the Android) and CapOne (for iOS), which they could download to their smartphones.

Using the apps and after opening accounts supposedly for trading, the scam victims were tricked into fake trading and investment activities involving shares and stock indices. These activities turned out to be fraudulent, leading the unfortunate investors to lose everything they had invested.

Last November, Consob issued a warning about scams that used big names in global finance, like "Morgan Stanley" and "Blackrock", as bait. These scams promoted supposed investment opportunities via WhatsApp, which were actually traps designed to steal investors' money.

Following this latest incident, Consob again cautions retail investors to be extremely careful and make informed investment decisions using common sense, which is crucial to protecting their savings. This starts with checking that the operator they're using is authorised.

In this regard, Consob refers to the "Watch for scams!" section on its website (www.consob.it), which sets out the basic rules to help you avoid financial scams.

Press release PDF version

Rome, 31 July 2025

Bond issues: Starting tomorrow, shorter timeframe for Consob's green light for publication of prospectuses - Authorisation power passes from the Commission to the Head of the Issuers' Division - It will be easier for companies to seize the favourable moment for placing securities

Shorter timeframe for Consob's green light for the publication of bond issue prospectuses. Starting from tomorrow, Saturday 19 July, the power to authorise both prospectuses and prospectus supplements will normally pass from the Commission, Consob's top decision-making body, to the head of the Issuers' Division.

The innovation is aimed at facilitating companies' access to the capital market by shortening the authorisation process for corporate bond issues and thus making it easier for companies to seize the most favourable moment for placing securities on the market.

The rationale behind this innovation is a consultation with the market as a result of which Consob introduced the new Article 8-bis of the Issuers' Regulations, which precisely attributes the power to approve prospectuses of non-equity securities to the Divisional Manager responsible for the subject matter, who may also delegate the Deputy Divisional Manager in general. In certain cases, the Commission will retain the authority to approve such prospectuses (resolution no. 23574 of 28 May 2025).

The initiative follows a series of regulatory actions already taken by Consob in pursuit of the objectives set by the Ministry of Economy and Finance's Green Paper of March 2022, with a particular focus on the approval process of prospectuses and the need to accelerate the related procedural timeframes, in order to make the Italian capital market more attractive.

The attribution of the power to approve prospectuses for non-equity securities to the Divisional Head, instead of the Commission, is thus in addition to the changes introduced in February 2024 regarding the reduction of assessment time and costs, as well as the use of the English language also for approval applications, and meets market participants' expectations of a reduction in the time between the closing of the investigation (so-called 'no-further comments') and the approval of the prospectus.

The certificate of approval provided for the so-called “passport” will also be adopted for the prospectuses relating to the aforementioned securities by the Divisional Manager.

The application forms for the approval of these prospectuses have been updated to take into account the change introduced at the approval stage.

The regulatory amendment comes into force tomorrow, July 19, 2025, thirty days after the publication of the aforementioned Consob Resolution no. 23574 in the Official Journal, and will apply to applications for prospectus approval submitted after that date.

Press release PDF version

18 July 2025

Watch for Scams! Abusive financial services: Consob blacks out 5 abusive websites

Consob has ordered the black-out of 5 new websites through which financial services are abusively offered or services for crypto-activities are abusively provided. In details, Consob ordered the blackout of 2 abusive financial intermediation websites and 3 websites through which crypto currency services are abusively provided.

The Authority made use of the powers deriving from the "Decreto crescita" ("Growth Decree", converted by Law No. 58 of 28 June 2019) regarding the black-out of websites of abusive financial intermediaries, as well as of the powers introduced by the MiCAR (Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 and Legislative Decree No. 129 of 5 September 2024) regarding the black out of websites through which crypto currency services are provided to Italian savers in the absence of the prescribed authorisations.

Below are the websites Consob has ordered to be blacked out:

- "Geneve Capital Invest" (website https://geneveinvestcap.com and page https://webtrader.gencapwebtrader.com);

- "Finbridge International" (website https://finbridgeinternational.com and page https://webtrader.finbridgeinternational.trade);

- "Atomic Wallet" (website https://atomicwallet.io);

- "Cexrqw.com" (website https://cexrqw.com);

- "Interersos.it" (website https://interersos.it);

The number of websites blacked out since July 2019, when Consob got the power to order that the websites of fraudulent financial intermediaries be blacked out, has thus risen to 1381.

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 calls the attention of savers to the importance of using the utmost diligence in order to make investment choices in full awareness, adopting common sense behaviors, which are essential to safeguard one's savings: among them, the prior verification, for sites offering financial services and on crypto-assets, that the operator through which one invests is authorized and, for offers of financial products and crypto-assets, that the prospectus or 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.

Press release PDF version

17 July 2025

Watch for Scams! Abusive financial services: Consob blacks out 7 abusive websites

Consob has ordered the black-out of 7 new websites through which services for crypto-activities are abusively provided.

The Authority made use of the powers introduced by the MiCAR (Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 and Legislative Decree No. 129 of 5 September 2024) regarding the black out of websites through which crypto currency services are provided to Italian savers without the prescribed authorizations.

Below are the websites Consob has ordered to be blacked out:

- "09pqws" (website https://09pqws.it);

- "DSS776" (website https://dss776.it);

- "ERY357" (website https://ery357.it);

- "TNT882" (website https://tnt882.it);

- "ZeroTrillionWorld" (website https://zerotrillionworld.it);

- "ZGV796" (website https://zgv796.it);

- "78DEF" (website https://78def.it).

The number of websites blacked out since July 2019, when Consob got the power to order that the websites of fraudulent financial intermediaries be blacked out, has thus risen to 1376.

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 blackout to come into effect.

Consob draws investors' attention to the importance of adopting the greatest diligence 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.

Press release PDF version

Rome, 11 July 2025

Watch for Scams! Abusive financial services: Consob blacks out 3 abusive websites

Consob ordered the blackout of 3 new websites abusively offering financial services.

The Authority availed itself of the powers deriving from the "Decreto crescita" ("Growth Decree"; Law no. 58 of 28 June 2019, Article no. 36, paragraph 2-terdecies), on the basis of which Consob can order Internet service providers to block access from Italy to websites offering financial services without the proper authorization.

Below are the websites Consob has ordered to be blacked out:

- "Indexswiss" (website www.indexswiss.com and related page https://client.indexswiss.com);

- "Fusion4Markets" (website https://fusion4marketsltd.com and related page https://client.fusion4marketsltd.com);

- "MGLuxembourg" (website https://mgluxembourg.cm and pages https://client.mgluxembourg.cm and https://webtrader.mgluxembourg.cm).

The number of websites blacked out since July 2019, when Consob got the power to order that the websites of fraudulent financial intermediaries be blacked out, has thus risen to 1369.

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 blackout 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 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.

Press release PDF version

Rome, 4 July 2025

Watch for Scams! Abusive financial services: Consob blacks out 6 abusive websites

Consob has ordered the black-out of 6 new websites through which financial services are abusively offered or services for crypto-activities are abusively provided. In details, Consob ordered the blackout of 3 abusive financial intermediation websites and 3 websites through which crypto currency services are abusively provided.

The Authority made use of the powers deriving from the "Decreto crescita" ("Growth Decree", converted by Law No. 58 of 28 June 2019) regarding the black-out of websites of abusive financial intermediaries, as well as of the powers introduced by the MiCAR (Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 and Legislative Decree No. 129 of 5 September 2024) regarding the black out of websites through which crypto currency services are provided to Italian savers in the absence of the prescribed authorisations.

Below are the websites Consob has ordered to be blacked out:
- “The Toro Global” (website https://thetoroglobal.com and related page https://client.thetoroglobal.com);
- “Finbridge International” (website www.finbridgeinter.com and related page https://webtrader.finbridgeinter.tech);
- “INCORE-INVFX”- “IncoreInvestment” (website https://incore-invfx.com and related page https://client.incore-invfx.com);
- “Coingridr.top” (website https://coingridr.top);
- “Gigtaskr” (website https://gigtaskr.top);
- “Sxr922” (website https://sxr922.it).
The number of websites blacked out since July 2019, when Consob got the power to order that the websites of fraudulent financial intermediaries be blacked out, has thus risen to 1366.

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 to make informed investment choices, adopting common sense behaviours, 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 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.

Press release PDF version

Rome, 26 June 2025

Watch for Scams! Abusive financial services: Consob blacks out 7 abusive websites

Consob has ordered the black-out of 7 new websites through which financial services and products are abusively provided: 6 abusive financial intermediation websites and 1 website through which an offer of financial products is carried out in the absence of a prospectus.

The Authority made use of the powers deriving from the "Growth Decree" ("Decreto crescita" - Law No. 58 of 28 June 2019, Article No. 36, paragraph 2-terdecies), regarding the blacking out of the websites of abusive financial intermediaries, as well as of the power introduced by Law No. 8 of 28 February 2020, Article No. 4, paragraph 3-bis, regarding the blacking out of the website by means of which the abusive offer is carried out.

Below are the websites Consob has ordered to be blacked out:

- "EXT24" (website https://ext247.co e relativa pagina https://my.ext247.co);

- "Rgroupltd" (website https://rgroupltd.cm and pages https://client.rgroupltd.cm and https://webtrader.rgroupltd.cm);

- "Trevorex" (website https://trevorrex.com and related page https://app.trevorrex.com);

- "AHP" (website www.ahpcmg.com);

- "QW Limited" (website www.quantumwins.com and related pages https://webtrader.quantumwins.com and https://mobtrader.quantumwins.com);

- "Tradepower" (website https://tradepower.pro and pages https://client.trade-power.pro and https://bestrader.io);

- "Magnomic Yield Ltd" (website https://magnomicyieldltd.com).

The number of websites blacked out since July 2019, when Consob got the power to order that the websites of fraudulent financial intermediaries be blacked out, has thus risen to 1360.

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 to make informed investment choices, adopting common sense behaviors, essential to safeguard their savings: these include prior verification, for websites offering financial services and on crypto assets, that the operator through whom one invests is licensed and, for financial product and crypto asset offerings, that the prospectus or 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.

Press release PDF version

Rome, 20 June 2025

From Consob wake-up call on crypto currency investment proposals linked to fake online job offers - Four abusive websites blacked out

Consob has issued a Warning (available only in Italian) to savers about the growing spread of the phenomenon of fake online job offers by which the performance of generic activities (such as, for example, clicking links, subscribing to websites, putting likes on commercial products/services, writing reviews and the like), linked to the performance of transactions on crypto currencies from which an additional opportunity to earn money would arise (the so-called task scam). These proposals, conveyed mainly through social networks, induce users to operate through websites that can be traced back to abusive service providers on crypto currencies and take the form of deceptive initiatives aimed at acquiring the users' own money and personal data.

Consob, in countering this phenomenon, has also ordered, pursuant to the European discipline on crypto-assets (Mica Regulation) the blacking out of four websites through which services for crypto-assets were provided to Italian savers in the lack of the prescribed authorizations.

Below are the sites which Consob issued to blackout:
- https://hct685.it;
- https://sdh878.it;
- https://skillnexp.top;
- https://ymg686.it.
The number of websites blacked out since July 2019, when Consob got the power to order that the websites of fraudulent financial intermediaries be blacked out, has thus risen to 1353.

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 to make informed investment choices, adopting common sense behaviours, 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 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.

Press release PDF version

Rome, 13 June 2025

Sanctioning proceedings: green light from Consob to regulatory changes - Detailed rules for the alternative instrument of “commitments” defined - An innovation aimed at improving the attractiveness of the Italian financial market

Consob launches the regulatory changes (Resolution No. 23597 of 4 June 2025) on sanctioning proceedings.

At the end of a consultation with the financial market that began last January, Consob has defined the detailed rules governing the use of the instrument of “commitments”; an innovation introduced by Article No. 196-ter of the Consolidated Law on Finance (Tuf) as a result of the “Law on Capitals” of March 2024.

The provision of “commitments” makes it possible for the early termination of the sanctioning proceedings without the sanction. The prerequisite, however, is that the recipient of Consob's charges undertakes to the regulatory and supervisory authority and the market to take remedial measures.

This way, Italy is aligning itself with the more advanced practices of European countries, which already adopted alternative settlement mechanisms for sanction proceedings. The regulatory intervention is part of the broader effort to improve the attractiveness and competitiveness of the Italian financial center (piazza finanziaria) in the European and non-European context.

Specifically, the regulation provides, by the way, a 30-day peremptory deadline for the submission of the commitment proposal (with the possibility of supplementing the application in the following 30 days). Consob examines the proposal, decides whether to approve or reject it and, if it is approved, publishes the outcome on its website.

The new rules will come into effect the day after its publication in the Official Gazette.

Press release PDF version

Rome, 10 June 2025

Consob issues investor alert on finfluencers - Investors urged not to follow the "herd effect" - Clear rules on transparency and conflicts of interest must be respected

Consob has issued a public warning addressed to both retail investors and finfluencers.

In a dedicated notice released today, the financial markets regulator cautions retail investors who rely on finfluencers - individuals who offer stock market advice via social media and the internet - about the risks of making investment decisions that are rushed, superficial, or emotionally driven. These risks are heightened when investors follow herd behavior or mistakenly perceive finfluencers as providing services equivalent to those of authorised financial advisors.

Particular caution is urged when faced with offers that appear highly profitable and risk-free, or in the presence of potential conflicts of interest involving the finfluencers themselves. Consob reiterates one of the fundamental principles of investing: the risk-return tradeoff—higher returns are generally associated with higher risks.

At the same time, Consob reminds finfluencers that their activity must comply with the relevant European regulations, especially those related to investment recommendations and market abuse prevention. Finfluencers must respect rules on the accuracy of information and the transparency of any potential conflicts of interest.

Both IOSCO - the international body of securities regulators - and ESMA, the European Securities and Markets Authority, have already addressed this issue with dedicated guidance.

This warning is part of a broader international initiative, the Global Week of Action Against Unlawful Finfluencers, involving regulators from the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, and Consob.

The initiative aims to raise public awareness - among both investors and finfluencers - about the potential risks associated with this form of online financial activity.

As part of its contribution, Consob is also releasing a short video that, starting from the concept of Ponzi schemes, warns the public about financial scams spreading online and across social media platforms.

LinkedIn

Press release PDF version

Rome, 6 June 2025

Watch for Scams! Abusive financial services: Consob blacks out 13 abusive websites

Consob has ordered the black-out of 13 new websites through which financial services are abusively offered or services for crypto-activities are abusively provided: 4 abusive financial intermediation websites, 1 website through which an offer of financial products is carried out in the absence of a prospectus and 8 sites through which crypto currency services are abusively provided.

The Authority made use of the powers deriving from the “Growth Decree” (“Decreto crescita” - Law No. 58 of 28 June 2019, Article No. 36, paragraph 2-terdecies), regarding the blacking out of the websites of abusive financial intermediaries, as well as of the power introduced by Law No. 8 of 28 February 2020, Article No. 4, paragraph 3-bis, regarding the blacking out of the website by means of which the abusive offer is carried out and of the powers introduced by the MiCAR regulations (Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 and Legislative Decree No. 129 of 5 September 2024) regarding the blacking out of websites by means of which services for crypto-assets are provided to Italian savers in the absence of the prescribed authorizations.

Below are the websites Consob has ordered to be blacked out:
- “CaptinCapital” (website www.captincapital.org);
- “Mercato del Futuro” (website https://mercatodelfuturo.com and related pages https://clients.mercatodelfuturo.com and https://trading.mercatodelfuturo.com);
- “Sector-Fusion” (website www.sector-fusion.com and related page https://webtrader.w1e2b3tr4d3r.com);
- “3Afund” (website www.3-afund.com);
- “Cfw896” (website https://cfw896.it);
- “Lumex” (websites https://stratoslumex.com and https://stratoslumex.net);
- “Tmxa” (website https://60yg.com);
- “Uyr968” and “Fwq367” (websites https://uyr968.it and https://fwq367.it);
- “Syk755” (website www.syk755.it);
- “Pxm266” (website https://pxm266.it);
- “GenixLimited” (website https://genixlimited.com).
The number of websites blacked out since July 2019, when Consob got the power to order that the websites of fraudulent financial intermediaries be blacked out, has thus risen to 1349.

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 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 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.

Press release PDF version

Rome, 5 June 2025

The Ponzi scheme: Consob’s video on the “mother of all financial scams” - Entertainment and education to help savers avoid falling into a trap and defend their wallets

It's a long-lasting financial scam. However, it is still claiming victims to this day. The core pattern is always the same. But it may vary from time to time. In times of social media it runs on the web and on smartphones.

We are talking about the Ponzi scheme, the “mother of all financial scams.” As of today, it is a Consob-made video (https://youtu.be/-D39jAGOrVI) to re-enact, in a couple of minutes, that fraudulent paradigm, warning about the risks and showing savers how not to fall into the trap.

Charles Ponzi, an Italian emigrate to the United States in the early XX century lured by the mirage of making his fortune, became rich indeed, but only for a few months. Then he ended up in jail. His trick essentially called back to life the chain letter and lasted the space of a morning, managing, however, to fool thousands of Americans.

In the present day, the Ponzi scheme lives again on social media and the web. Easy money without risk: this is the lure re-purposed in many different declinations.

Starting with Ponzi, Consob intended to alert the attention of savers with a video helping them not be lured by financial offers, most often without authorization and therefore abusive ones, which promise stratospheric gains in a short time and with zero risk.

Learn more in the “Watch for scams!” section on the homepage www.consob.it, the vademecum for protecting savers.

LinkedIn

Press release PDF version

Rome, 3 June 2025

Watch for Scams! Abusive financial services: Consob blacks out 8 abusive websites

Consob has ordered the black-out of 8 new websites promoting or providing financial services illegally.

The Authority availed itself of the powers deriving from the "Decreto crescita" ("Growth Decree"; Law no. 58 of 28 June 2019, Article no. 36, paragraph 2-terdecies), on the basis of which Consob can order Internet service providers to block access from Italy to websites offering financial services without the proper authorization.

Below are the websites Consob has ordered to be blacked out:

- Pim Mtf Markets Limited (websites www.pimmtf.vip, www.pimcmtf.vip, www.pimmtf.ai and www.pimmtf.ltd);

- "Peaktradeoption" (website https://peaktradeoption.com);

- "Stockwisse" (website www.stockwisse.co and related page https://clientzone.stockwisse.co);

- "Finanza Expert" (website https://finanzaexpert.io and related pages https://clients.finanzaexpert.io and https://trading.finanzaexpert.io) ;

- "SteTrading" (website https://www.stetrading.online).

The number of websites blacked out since July 2019, when Consob got the power to order that the websites of fraudulent financial intermediaries be blacked out, has thus risen to 1336.

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 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 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.

Press release PDF version

Rome, 30 May 2025

Watch for Scams! Abusive financial services: Consob blacks out 11 abusive websites

Consob has ordered the black-out of 11 new websites through which financial services are abusively offered or services for crypto-activities are abusively provided. In details, Consob ordered the blackout of 7 abusive financial intermediation websites and 4 websites through which crypto currency services are abusively provided.

The Authority made use of the powers deriving from the "Decreto crescita" ("Growth Decree", converted by Law No. 58 of 28 June 2019) regarding the black-out of websites of abusive financial intermediaries, as well as of the powers introduced by the MiCAR (Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 and Legislative Decree No. 129 of 5 September 2024) regarding the black out of websites through which crypto currency services are provided to Italian savers in the absence of the prescribed authorizations.

Below are the websites Consob has ordered to be blacked out:
- “Lemintero” (website https://lemintero.co);
- “Geneve Capital Invest” (website https://genevcapinvest.com and related page https://webtrader.gencapwebtrade.com);
- VT Markets Limited (websites www.vtmarkets.com and www.vtmarkets.net and related pages https://myaccount.vtmarkets.net and https://social.vtacademy.net);
- “HotMarkets” (website https://hotmarketscfd.com);
- “Fusion4Markets” (website https://fusion4markets.cc and related page https://client.fusion4markets.cc);
- “Trustfxpro” (website www.trustfxpro.com);
- “Bvoxed” (website https://bvoxed.com);
- “BeratCoin” (website https://btc6688.com);
- “Interersos/Interesosf” (websites https://interersosf.org and https://interersos.org).
The number of websites blacked out since July 2019, when Consob got the power to order that the websites of fraudulent financial intermediaries be blacked out, has thus risen to 1328.

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 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 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.

Press release PDF version

Rome, 22 May 2025

Abusive financial services: Consob blacks out 6 abusive websites

Consob has ordered the blackout of 6 new websites promoting or providing financial services illegally.

The Authority availed itself of the powers deriving from the "Decreto crescita" ("Growth Decree"; Law no. 58 of 28 June 2019, Article no. 36, paragraph 2-terdecies), on the basis of which Consob can order Internet service providers to block access from Italy to websites offering financial services without the proper authorization.

Below are the websites Consob has ordered to be blacked out:

- "Fibonachis" (website https://fibonachis.com and related page https://webtrader.alynto.tech);

- "PrimeXMarkets Ltd" (website https://primexmarkets.com and related page https://client.primexmarkets.com);

- "Blyx Ultra" (websites https://blyxultra.com and https://blyxultraltd.com and related page https://cfd.platformt121-3-3.com);

- State Street Markets Limited (website www.streetstate.vip);

- "EXT24" (website https://ext24.co and related page https://my.ext24.co).

The number of websites blacked out since July 2019, when Consob got the power to order that the websites of fraudulent financial intermediaries be blacked out, has thus risen to 1317.

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 blackout to come into effect.

Consob draws investors' attention to the importance of adopting the greatest diligence 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 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.

Press release PDF version

16 May 2025

Financial fraud: Consob blacks out a website that "was cloning" the Minister of the Economy Giancarlo Giorgetti

Consob has ordered the black out of the https://giorgetti-invest.com website, which "was cloning" the image of the Minister of the Economy, Giancarlo Giorgetti. Through fake interviews apparently given to leading television programmes, the Minister's "clone" advertised investment services provided via abusive trading platforms.

Consob's action - to protect retail investors and the Minister himself, who had absolutely nothing to do with the matter - was carried out, by exercising the powers deriving from the "Growth Decree" (converted by Law no. 58 of 28 June 2019) and the "Capital Law" (Law no. 21 of 5 March 2024).

In recent months, Consob has carried out similar actions on sites that illegally referred to the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, and the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella (Consob press release of 12 December 2024).

At the same time, Consob has also blocked six other abusive financial intermediation sites.

Below are the sites Consob has ordered to be blacked out:

· "Paragonix Trader AI" - "Telarax" - "Giorgetti-Invest.com" (https://paragonix-trader-ai.com, https://telarax.com websites and the https://webtrader.orestpa.tech page and https://giorgetti-invest.com advertising site).

· "Goldbysell" (https://gold-bysell.com website and its https://clientzone.gold-bysell.com and https://webtrader.gold-bysell.com pages);

· "Smart Solutions Bot" (https://smartsolutionsbot.com website and its https://my.smartsolutionsbot.com page);

· "Afex Markets" (website www.afexmarkets-it.com and its pages https://clientarea.alpha247-it.com and https://webtrader.alpha247-it.com);

· "Finco Trades" (https://fincotrades.org website and its https://web.fin-trades.org page);

The number of sites blacked out since July 2019, when Consob was given the power to order the black-out of websites of fraudulent financial intermediaries, has thus risen to 1311.

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 behaviours, essential to safeguard one's savings: these include, for websites that offer financial services and crypto-assets, checking in advance that the operator with whom you are investing is authorised, and, for offers of financial products and crypto-assets, that a prospectus or white paper has been published.

Please note, there is a section on the homepage of the www.consob.it website, entitled "Watch for Scams!", which provides useful information warning investors about fraudulent financial schemes.

Press release PDF version

8 May 2025

Watch for Scams! Abusive financial services: Consob blacks out 4 abusive websites

Consob has ordered the black-out of 4 new websites through which services for crypto-activities are abusively provided.

The Authority made use of the powers introduced by the MiCAR (Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 and Legislative Decree No. 129 of 5 September 2024) regarding the black out of websites through which crypto currency services are provided to Italian savers without the prescribed authorisations.

Below are the websites Consob has ordered to be blacked out:
- “Egplus.vip” (website https://egplus.vip);
- “Egalite.bond” (website https://egalite.bond);
- Arbismart UAB (website https://arbismart.com and related page https://dashboard.arbismart.com);
- “Blockbyteq” (website https://blockbyteq.top).
The number of websites blacked out since July 2019, when Consob got the power to order that the websites of fraudulent financial intermediaries be blacked out, has thus risen to 1304.

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 to make informed investment choices, adopting common sense behaviours, 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.

Press release PDF version

Rome, 2 May 2025

Watch for Scams! Abusive financial services: Consob blacks out 9 abusive websites

Consob has ordered the black-out of 9 new websites that offer financial services/financial products illegally: 8 illegal financial intermediation websites and 1 website through which an offer of financial products is carried out in the absence of a prospectus.

The Authority availed itself of the powers deriving from the "Decreto crescita" ("Growth Decree" Law no. 58 of 28 June 2019, Article no. 36, paragraph 2-terdecies), relating to the black-out of the sites of abusive financial intermediaries, as well as of the power introduced by the Law no. 8 of 28 February 2020, Article no. 4, paragraph 3-bis, with reference to the black-out of the website through which the illegal offer is carried out.

Below are the websites Consob has ordered to be blacked out:
- “Geneve Capital Invest” (website https://genevecapinvest.com and related pages https://webtrader.genevemarkets.com and https://webtrader.marketsgenevecapital.com);
- Investium Group (website www.investiumgroups.co and related page https://client.investiumgroups.co);
- “ITradingFX” (website https://itradingfx.net and pages https://account.itradingfx.net and https://tradingapi.chartstrading.io);
- “Ustrade24” (website https://ustrade24.com and related page https://my.ustrade24.com);
- “AlphaWealtExpertise” (websites www.alphawealtexpertise.com and www.alphawealth-expertise.com and their respective pages https://client.alphawealtexpertise.com and https://client.alphawealth-expertise.com);
- “NEX TRADE” (website www.nextradeltd.com);
- “XPTRADERS” (website https://xptraders.com and related page https://trading.xptraders.com);
- “FortiCard Limited” (website https://forti-card.com).
The number of websites blacked out since July 2019, when Consob got the power to order that the websites of fraudulent financial intermediaries be blacked out, has thus risen to 1300.

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 behaviours, 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 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.

Press release PDF version

Rome, 17 April 2025

Watch for Scams! Abusive financial services: Consob blacks out 16 abusive websites

Consob has ordered the black-out of 16 new websites promoting or providing financial services illegally.

The Authority availed itself of the powers deriving from the "Decreto crescita" ("Growth Decree"; Law no. 58 of 28 June 2019, Article no. 36, paragraph 2-terdecies), on the basis of which Consob can order Internet service providers to block access from Italy to websites offering financial services without the proper authorization.

Below are the websites Consob has ordered to be blacked out:

- "Quantum AI App Trading" (websites https://quantumaiapp.it and https://quantum-ai.in);

- "Newgrtdeals" (website https://newgrtdeals.com);

- "Piattaformaditradingdielonmusk" (website https://piattaformaditradingdielonmusk.it);

- "Quantum AI Co" (website https://quantumai.co);

- "Quantum AI Piattaforma and Quantum AI Official" (websites https://quantumaipiattaforma.it and https://quantumaiofficial.com);

- "Quantum AI Platform" (website https://quantumaiplatform.com);

- "Orbimount" (website https://orbimount.io and page https://trade.plf-tchb.com);

- "Zeon Global Ltd (website https://zeon-lim.com and page https://my.zeon-lim.com);

- "Hyper-trades" (website https://hyper-trades.com and page https://trade.hyper-trades.com);

- "Vex-Group" (website https://vex-group.pro);

- PO Trade Ltd (website https://po.life);

- Asset Management International Ltd (website https://assetmanagementint.com and page https://clientzone.assetmanagementint.com);

- "FPQuantumAI" (website https://fpquantumai.net);

- "Quantumworld" (website https://quantumworld.it and page https://cfd.earnpro99.com).

The number of websites blacked out since July 2019, when Consob got the power to order that the websites of fraudulent financial intermediaries be blacked out, has thus risen to 1291.

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 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 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.

Press release PDF version

10 April 2025

Watch for Scams! Abusive financial services: Consob blacks out 7 abusive websites

Consob has ordered the black-out of 7 new websites through which financial services are abusively offered or services for crypto-activities are abusively provided. In details, Consob ordered the blackout of 4 abusive financial intermediation websites and 3 websites through which crypto currency services are abusively provided.

The Authority made use of the powers deriving from the "Decreto crescita" ("Growth Decree", converted by Law No. 58 of 28 June 2019) regarding the black-out of websites of abusive financial intermediaries, as well as of the powers introduced by the MiCAR (Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 and Legislative Decree No. 129 of 5 September 2024) regarding the black out of websites through which crypto currency services are provided to Italian savers in the absence of the prescribed authorizations.

Below are the websites Consob has ordered to be blacked out:

- "Finanza Expert" (website https://finanzaexpert.com and related pages https://clients.finanzaexpert.com and https://trading.finanzaexpert.com);

- "Cmswiss" (website https://cmswiss.com and related page https://webtrader.cmswiss.com);

- "Aspect-Markets" (website https://aspect-markets.cc and related pages https://aspect-markets.online and https://web.aspect-markets.trade);

- "UCapital Trading" (website https://ucapitaltrading.com and related page https://clients.ucapitaltrading.com);

- "Caa871" (website https://caa871.it);

- "Sdf837" (website https://sdf837.it);

- "SYBZ" (website https://sybzgroup.co).

The number of websites blacked out since July 2019, when Consob got the power to order that the websites of fraudulent financial intermediaries be blacked out, has thus risen to 1275.

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 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 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.

Press release PDF version

27 March 2025

Memorandum of understanding between CONSOB and Banca d’Italia on the product intervention power provided for by the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR)

Banca d’Italia and the Italian Companies and Stock Exchange Commission (CONSOB) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) governing the procedures for coordinating their action and exchanging information regarding the exercise of their product intervention power on financial instruments, structured deposits and financial activities and practices in Italy, in accordance with the division of powers laid down in the Consolidated Law on Finance (Testo unico della finanza, TUF).

The memorandum of understanding:
- governs the exchange of information between Banca d’Italia and CONSOB concerning financial instruments circulating in Italy, including information that may emerge from periodic analyses or from participation in the work of the European Banking Authority (EBA) and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA);
- defines the procedures and time frame for issuing the opinions provided for by the TUF, in the event of the exercise of the product intervention power by either authority;
- provides that Banca d’Italia and CONSOB recognize each other as ‘point of contact’ for communications with the EBA and ESMA, respectively.
The product intervention power introduced by the EU’s Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR) consist of the possibility of banning or restricting:
- the marketing, distribution or sale of financial instruments and structured deposits (i.e. deposits whose return is linked to indicators such as indices, financial instruments, commodities or foreign exchange rates);
- certain related financial activities and practices (e.g. how the placement is made, distribution strategies, and incentive mechanisms relating to the distribution of financial products).
The TUF grants the product intervention power to Banca d’Italia with regard to safeguarding the stability of the national financial system and to CONSOB with regard to ensuring investor protection and the smooth functioning and integrity of financial and commodity markets. The intervention power can be exercised by activating temporary or permanent measures directed at banks, investment firms or market operators.

The memorandum of understanding is available at www.bancaditalia.it and www.consob.it.

Press release PDF version

Rome, 27 March 2025

Watch for Scams! Abusive financial services: Consob blacks out 8 abusive websites

Consob has ordered the black-out of 8 new websites through which financial services are abusively offered or services for crypto-activities are abusively provided. In details, Consob ordered the blackout of 4 abusive financial intermediation websites and 4 websites through which crypto currency services are abusively provided.

The Authority made use of the powers deriving from the "Decreto crescita" ("Growth Decree", converted by Law No. 58 of 28 June 2019) regarding the black-out of websites of abusive financial intermediaries, as well as of the powers introduced by the MiCAR (Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 and Legislative Decree No. 129 of 5 September 2024) regarding the black out of websites through which crypto currency services are provided to Italian savers in the absence of the prescribed authorizations.

Below are the websites Consob has ordered to be blacked out:

- "Investing Banks" (website https://investing-banks.com and related page https://online-sys-inv.com);

- Pim Mtf Markets Limited (website www.pimmtf.com);

- "Trade Republica" (website https://tradingrepublicaltd.com and related page https://cfd.tradingrepublica.com);

- Top Markets Ltd (website https://tender-capitalcfd.com and related page https://wt.tender-capitalcfd.com);

- Deroka UAB (websites https://dtcoin.tech, https://dtwallet.io and https://forcedmarketcap.tech);

- DTSocialize Holding PLC (website https://dtsmoney.com and related page https://portal.dtsmoney.com.)

The number of websites blacked out since July 2019, when Consob got the power to order that the websites of fraudulent financial intermediaries be blacked out, has thus risen to 1268.

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 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 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.

Press release PDF version

27 March 2025

Sustainable finance: ESG objectives still poorly integrated into business plans - The Consob study "The integration of ESG factors in corporate strategy: an analysis of corporate disclosure. First insights for reflection" was published

For the first time, Consob has analysed the information on Environmental, Social and Governance ("ESG") objectives in the industrial plans of a sample of Italian companies. In particular, in addition to the business plans and the related press releases, the information provided in the prospectuses, annual financial reports and non-financial statements of 52 companies (including unlisted companies) that between 2020 and 2021 published a prospectus for the purpose of offering/admission to trading in equity or debt securities on the Italian regulated markets were also considered.

The photograph taken by Consob, relating to 2021 and 2022 data, shows a general progressive increase in ESG reporting in the broad sense, including the related risks, as part of planning (from 19% of the issuers analysed in 2021 to 29% in 2022).

However, with specific reference to the information on ESG objectives in the business plans, the number of issuers appears: a) still limited, although increasing (from 15% of the sample in 2021 to 27% in 2022); b) positively related to corporate size; c) mainly attributable to the financial sector.

In addition, the representation of ESG objectives in plans is often not accompanied by quantitative (therefore measurable) metrics, while mixed (qualitative-quantitative) and/or generic objectives are preferred. The quantitative metric most frequently used for ESG objectives in business plans concerns the reduction of emissions harmful to the environment.

In the other documents examined, the information on the ESG objectives of the business plans often appears to be more formal than concrete, focusing more on the description of the risks of non-application of environmental legislation or governance principles, rather than on the representation of ESG objectives that can be measured concretely.

The data of the study show, therefore, that in the period analysed, the companies included in the sample have not yet reached a high level of maturity on ESG issues. This conclusion must be framed in the light of the short period of time that has elapsed since the introduction of the ESG legislation and the evolution of the current regulatory framework.

The study was edited by M.C. Lena (coordinator), F. Fancello (data analysis coordinator), M.G. Altamura, V. Anzellotti, C. Bisogno, S. Cocci, G. Di Stefano, R. Ertman, I. Fabbiani, M. Mencarelli, L.E. Olita, M. Tartaglione.

Press release PDF version

24 March 2025

Watch for Scams! Abusive financial services: Consob blacks out 8 abusive websites

Consob has ordered the black-out of 8 new websites through which financial services are abusively offered or services for crypto-activities are abusively provided. In details, Consob ordered the blackout of 3 abusive financial intermediation websites and 5 websites through which crypto currency services are abusively provided.

The Authority made use of the powers deriving from the "Decreto crescita" ("Growth Decree", converted by Law No. 58 of 28 June 2019) regarding the black-out of websites of abusive financial intermediaries, as well as of the powers introduced by the MiCAR (Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 and Legislative Decree No. 129 of 5 September 2024) regarding the black out of websites through which crypto currency services are provided to Italian savers in the absence of the prescribed authorisations.

Below are the websites Consob has ordered to be blacked out:
- “Monetizeer”, website www.monetizeer.top (resolution no. 23476 of 19 March 2025);
- “Liberty Invested Limited”, website https://libertyinvestedlimitedltd.com and related page https://cfd.libertyinvestedlimitedltd.com (resolution no. 23475 of 19 March 2025);
- “AlfacapitalCFD”, website https://alfacapital-cfd24.com and related page https://client.alfacapital-cfd24.com (resolution no. 23477 of 19 March 2025);
- “AKQ”, websites https://akqa715.it and https://AKQ1181.it (resolution no. 23480 of 19 March 2025);
- “Fameexn”, websites https://fameexe.top and https://fameexj.top (resolution no. 23479 of 19 March 2025;
- “ArgonInternational”, website https://argonintgroup.com and related page https://cfd.argonintgroup.com (resolution no. 23478 of 19 March 2025).
The number of websites blacked out since July 2019, when Consob got the power to order that the websites of fraudulent financial intermediaries be blacked out, has thus risen to 1260.

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 to make informed investment choices, adopting common sense behaviours, 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 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.

Press release PDF version

20 March 2025

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