Italy’s Consob orders blackout of more unauthorized investment websites
Italy’s Companies and Exchange Commission (CONSOB) today issued orders for the blocking of access from Italian territory to five unauthorized investment websites, including those of FX Suit and EU Markets.
The latest set of orders target the following entities:
- Salvax Limited (websites www.fxsuit.it and www.fxsuit.net);
- NewTraders Holdings Ltd (website https://eu-markets.co and related page https://client.eu-markets.co);
- Triton Partnership Ltd (website https://lcoinmarket.com and related page https://client.lcoinmarket.com);
- Evolution Markets LTD (website http://marketseco.com).
In issuing the orders, the regulator made use of the powers granted to it by the so-called “Growth Decree” (Law no. 58 of 28 June 2019, Article no. 36, paragraph 2-terdecies). This piece of legislation empowers Consob to order Internet service providers to ban access from Italy to the websites through which financial services are offered without due authorization.
The number of websites blacked out since July 2019, when Consob got the power to issue such blocking orders, has risen to 405. Last week, the regulator ordered the blocking of four unauthorized investment websites, including ones belonging to Royal Trade FX and EuroFX.
The black-out of these websites by Internet service providers is ongoing. For technical reasons, it can take several days for the blocking to be implemented.
Many of these websites offer CFD, FX and cryptocurrency trading. A prominent example of a website of a Forex broker blocked in Italy is that of IC Markets. This case also demonstrates that the blocking of a website can have much more serious effect on a business rather than a warning.