Italy’s Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (CONSOB) stepped in to warn the public about dealing with several companies, which include some FX platforms that mostly operate offshore without a specific regulatory status.
Consob said many of such unregulated platforms are high-risk, not only in the sense of the asset class they offer but some of them are just outright scams. The financial watchdog said that fraudsters promote investments in binary options, CFDs, forex and cryptocurrencies, which is a bit of a grey area, as low-risk. While it may seem so at first glance, not least because of the assurances set out in the promotional materials, claims of such guaranteed returns should raise alarm bells.
Specifically, Consob has ordered the black-out of 6 new websites that offer financial services/financial products, including 5 illegal broker domains. As a result, the number of sites blacked out since July 2019, when Consob got the power to ban the websites of financial intermediaries it deems unregulated, has risen to 839.
The Italian market securities market regulator has been on a rampant crackdown to protect retail investors by making illegal financial services inaccessible.
Additionally, this includes product offers by firms holding licenses in other jurisdictions. The strict actions on these unauthorized actors in the market come as offshore brokers continue to chase online trading business in Italy.
In its latest crackdown, the Consob has contacted Italy’s internet service providers, requesting them to block access to:
- – Bamboozle Group LTD (website https://enerixinvest.pro and related page https://eninvest.pro);
- – The Active Traders Ltd (website https://theactivetrade.com and related page https://client.theactivetrade.com);
- – “Admiralfx” (website https://admiralmarket-ecn.com);
- – Rever LTD/”Vexxsel” (website https://vexxsel.online and related page https://platform.vexxsel.online);
- – EuropeanFX Limited (website https://europeanfx.co/ and related pages https://client.europeanfx.co/ and https://trade.europeanfx.co);
- – Gold Crown Mining Limited (website www.goldcrownminingltd.com).
“If you are contacted by or if you come across a domain/website which offers you the opportunity for trading online (i.e. trade on binary options and / or forex transactions) please verify first of all if it is authorized. Every authorized subject must be included in the SIM list kept by CONSOB. To check with the list click here. On the CONSOB website you can also control the list of all the EU investment firms operating in Ital,” the watchdog said.
