Italy’s Companies and Exchange Commission (CONSOB) today announced that it has issued orders for the blocking of access to six websites.

The websites targeted by the latest order are:

• “Marbrisse” (website https://marbrisse.com and the associated page https://webtrader.strenlyx-degreonix.com);
• ‘IMGPartners.cm/IM-Global.cm’ (website https://im-global.cm and the associated pages https://client.im-global.cm and https://webtrader.im-global.cm);
• “Adamant Invest” (website https://adamant-invest.com and the associated page https://webtrader.adamant-trade.com);
• “AEA Growth” (website https://aeagrowth.ltd);
• “Nextrize Invest” (websites https://nextrize.org and https://trck-oklomin.info).

In issuing the orders, the Authority has exercised the powers deriving from the ‘Growth Decree’ and the MiCAR regulations (EU Regulation and Legislative Decree No. 129/2024).

This brings the total number of websites blocked by Consob since July 2019 – when the Authority was granted the power to order the blocking of websites belonging to unauthorised financial intermediaries – to 1,822. Of these, 235 relate to crypto-related activities.

Consob stresses the evolving nature of deceptive practices that exploit the internet to steal users’ money and personal data: there has been an increase in the use of new tools, such as emails and ‘cloned’ websites, fake profiles of politicians, celebrities and content generated using artificial intelligence systems – such as images, voices or videos – with the aim of persuading investors to make harmful investment decisions.