Italy’s CONSOB Shuts Down 400 Broker Sites in Two Years
The Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (CONSOB) has cracked down and shut down four additional broker sites. The Italian financial watchdog has accused the four brokers of promoting trading products in Italy without authorisation or licensing.
The four firms have been identified as KBS Capital Markets Ltd, Donnybrook Consulting Ltd, Investigram Ltd, and FCS Technology Ltd. Donnybrook Consulting and Investigram operate under the domain names www.eurofx.trade and www.investigram.com respectively.
CONSOB said in an official statement that the four sites will be blocked in accordance to its Growth Decree of 2019.
“Consob has ordered the blackout of 4 new websites that abusively offer financial services.”
KBS and Capital Markets and FCS Technology both operate under royaltradefx.com and royaltradefz.com, and stockmarketinvest.pro and client.stockmarket.pro, respectively.
CONSOB’s Ongoing Crackdown
The operation is also part of an ongoing wider campaign by Italy’s CONSOB to pursue unauthorized brokers in Italy. The watchdog said that it has contacted internet service providers to block access for the four brokers. It is among European watchdogs with the power to direct internet services providers to block access for suspected brokers.
“The black-out of these websites by Internet service providers operating on Italian territory is ongoing. For technical reasons, it can take several days for the blackout to come into effect.”
The move is aimed at protecting investors by making illegal trading and other financial services inaccessible in the country.
Since July 2019, when the watchdog got its additional powers, the CONSOB has banned 400 brokerage firms. The authority made CONSOB the only EU regulator with such powers.
CONSOB Moves In on Cryptocurrency Regulation.
Following great success during its two years, the CONSOB has set the standard for future aspirations for other EU watchdogs. Additionally the CONSOB has been on the frontline of EU brokers to refine the process of identifying non-complaint brokers.
Similar CONSOB news also indicates growing commitment of the watchdog towards cryptocurrency regulation in Italy. CONSOB recently ordered several CySEC-regulated brokers to shut down their operations in Italy. This also prevented Cyprus-based intermediaries from soliciting or continuing to service their Italian clients.
In cryptocurrency regulation, the CONSOB, which is a securities regulatory authority, is making progressive strides. In February 2021, the watchdog held a webinar with key players in the financial markets. The meeting was a discussion to delve into regulation of digital tokens which are classified as securities.
