Italy’s Companies and Exchange Commission (CONSOB) has issued orders to block access to five unauthorized investment websites.
In issuing the orders, the Authority made use of the powers deriving from the “Decreto crescita” (“Development Decree”, Law no. 58 of June 28, 2019, article 36, paragraph 2-terdecies), under which Consob can to order Internet service providers to block access from Italy to websites offering financial services without proper authorization.
The latest sites to be blocked include:
- “Bcs-gm” (website and related page
- “Sigma Capital” (web
- “Capitalpartners24” (website
- “SEGUROFX” (website and related page
- “Mestieriplaza” (website www.mestieriplaza.com).
The number of websites taken down since July 2019, when Consob was given the power to order the banning of fraudulent financial intermediaries, has risen to 1,084. Last week, the regulator ordered the blocking of access to four unauthorized investment websites.
The shutdown of these websites by ISPs operating in Italy continues. For technical reasons, it may take several days for the block to take effect.
Consob draws the attention of investors to the importance of adopting greater diligence in order to make informed investment choices, adopting common sense behaviors necessary to safeguard their savings: these include, for websites offering financial services, the prior checking of operator with whom they are authorized to invest and, for financial product offerings, a prospectus has been published.