Italy’s Companies and Exchange Commission (CONSOB) today announced it has ordered the blocking of access to six unauthorized investment websites.

The websites targeted by the orders are:

• “aoncfd.com” (site https://aoncfd.com and related page https://client.aoncfd.com);
• “wallexmarketsbv.it.com” (site https://wallexmarketsbv.it.com and related page https://clientzone.wallexmarketsbv.it.com and https://wt.wallexmarketsbv.it.com);
• “Valore Capital” (site https://valore-capital.com and related page https://client.valore-capital.com);
• “Igcapitaleurope.com” (site https://igcapitaleurope.com and related page https://webtrader.live-webtrader.com, https://webtrader.live-traderplatform.com);
• “Dortuviax” (site https://dortuviax.it);
• “Market Capital FX” (site www.marketcapitalfx.com).

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 1,799. Of these, 233 relate to crypto-asset-related activities.

The Authority has exercised the powers conferred by the ‘Growth Decree’ to block the websites of unauthorised financial intermediaries, as well as the powers provided for under the MiCAR framework (EU Regulation and Legislative Decree No 129/2024) regarding the blocking of websites through which crypto-asset services are provided to Italian investors without authorisation.

Consob also noted 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 and 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.