Italy’s Companies and Exchange Commission (CONSOB) has issued orders to block access to five unauthorized investment websites.
The websites targeted by CONSOB orders are:
- “TBMarket” (website
- “Ahfultra” (website and related page
- “Forexelite Limited – Elite Trading Academy Limited” (website and related page
- Top Markets Ltd and Imperialcap-24 Limited (website and related page
- “PepperstoneTrade” (website www.pepperstoneltd.co and related page
It is worth noting that some of these websites belong to clones, that is, entities that misuse the data (address, name, logo) of authorized businesses to lure victims more easily.
The number of websites taken down since July 2019, when Consob got the power to order the websites of fraudulent financial intermediaries, has risen to 1,094. Last week, the regulator ordered the blocking of access to five unauthorized websites, including those operated by GMT Brokers Ltd and TopTierCapital.
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.