Consob, the government authority in Italy responsible for the regulation of the Italian securities market, announced today that it has shut down 6 new websites offering unauthorized financial services in the country.

According to the official announcement, the authority has ordered internet service providers to block the websites of Axedo, Fxfinancepro, Thinkmarket 247 Ltd, Donnybrook consulting, Globalinvestfx and Universe citizens limited. The Italian regulator has the power to block illegal websites offering financial services under the Growth Decree (Law no. 58 of 28 June 2019).

Consob started blocking unauthorized websites in July 2019 and the recent initiative means that the total number of blocked websites has risen to 360. The authority mentioned that for technical reasons, the blockage may take several days to come into effect after the order.

“The Authority availed itself of the powers deriving from the ‘Growth Decree’ (Law no. 58 of 28 June 2019, Article no. 36), on the basis of which Consob can order Internet connectivity service providers to inhibit access from Italy to the websites through which financial services are offered without due authorization,” the official announcement states.

Financial Protection

Consob requested Italian investors to adopt the greatest diligence before making an investment decision. The authority also asked citizens to report fraudulent and unauthorized companies.

“Consob draws investors’ attention to the importance of adopting the greatest diligence in order to make informed investment choices, adopting common sense behaviors, essential to safeguard their savings: these include, for websites that offer financial services, checking in advance that the operator with whom they are investing is authorized, and, for offers of financial products, that a prospectus has been published,” Consob mentioned.

Finance Magnates reported in December about the accelerated efforts of the Italian watchdog to block illegal domains operating in the country. The regulator has made it difficult for unauthorized operators to target Italian citizens. Before the recent block, Consob asked internet companies to block access to Investoomatic Limited, Kiqiwk Holdings Intl Limited, and ADV-Investment.