Italy’s CONSOB expands list of blocked investment websites
Italy’s Companies and Exchange Commission (CONSOB) has further expanded the list of blocked websites by ordering the black-out of four new websites that offer financial services illegally.
The websites targeted by the latest set of Consob orders are:
- BC Solutions Limited (website https://euroinvestpartner.com and related pages https://webtrader.euroinvestpartner.com and https://crm.euroinvestpartner.com);
- “Sharkoption” (website www.sharkoption.com and related pages https://client.sharkoption.com and https://webtrader.sharkoption.com);
- Coconors and Partners LLC (website https://honestcapital.pro and page https://webtrader.c-invest.co);
- “Winnex Consulting” (website https://winexconsulting.com and related page https://client.winexconsulting.com).
In issuing the orders, 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.
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 809. Last week, the regulator ordered the blocking of four websites too.
The black-out of these websites by Internet service providers operating in Italy is ongoing. For technical reasons, it can take several days for the blocking to be implemented.