The Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (CONSOB) has shut down new websites in an ongoing clampdown against firms it accuses of illegally promoting investment products in the country.
The newly-blacklisted domains include several FX platforms that mostly operate offshore without a specific regulatory status.
The watchdog added the following brands to its register of banned internet sources for illegally promoting trading products in the country.
– Vigo and Co Llc and 674 Llc (website https://www.galicfx.com and its pagehttps://webtrader.galicfx.com);
– iam-ltd Ltd and Fx Publications, Inc (website https://iam-ltd.com and its pagehttps://xvtrcv-client.com);
– “Cash Forex Group” / “Cash Fx Group” (website www.cashfxgroup.com);
– Assetgroup, Inc. / “Asset Group” (website https://assetgroup.xyz and its pagehttps://webtrader.assetgroup.ltd);
– Donnybrook Consulting Ltd (websites https://neotrade.pro, https://neotrade.cc and its page https://neotrade.io);
– Bit Advisory Limited (website www.bit-advisorylimited.com).
– Tryst Consulting LLC (website https://inertiafinance.co);
– High Rock Holdings LLC (website https://solidinvesting.co);
– Evolve Invest Limited (website https://indexevolve.com and related page https://my.indexevolve.com);
– Miva Solutions LLC (website https://eurocapitals.com and related page https://account.eurocapitals.com);
– WAM-Capital UK Ltd/WAM-Capital e Gabioni Ltd (website https://wamcapital.co and related page https://accounts.wamcapital.co).
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 628.
Today’s blacklisted sites offer forex and CFDs trading, but the CONSOB says some of the names featured in the warning are dealing in crypto assets, either in the form of the underlying coins or its related derivatives such as CFDs.
The crackdown comes after Consob refined its process for identifying non-compliant companies. Recently, the regulator went after a handful of CySEC-licensed brokers and ordered them to cease operations in the country. The decisions also prevented Cypriot intermediaries from soliciting customers or continuing its current relations with Italian clients.
The Italian regulator found new tools to address illegal operators in the market when the ‘Growth Decree’ extended its powers far beyond. Thanks to the decree, CONSOB can order Italian internet service providers (ISPs) to block websites in the region. Due to technical reasons, it can take several days for the black-out to come into effect when these websites shut for a temporary period.
Additionally, the authority has warned even authorized firms against falsely advertising unregulated products as being regulated by Consob. The watchdog added that these financial promotions were unlikely to provide consumers with the clarity required by its rules and could leave them unable to understand whether the promoted products or services were beyond its remit.
