The Italian Companies and Exchange Commission (CONSOB), Italy’s financial regulatory authority, has ordered internet service providers in the country to block access to the websites of five financial services firms targeting Italians without authorization. The watchdog noted that it can take several days for the blockage to come into effect.

CONSOB Blocks 871 Sites over 3 Years

According to CONSOB, the websites being blocked are Aquilafx (aquilafx.com and related page, client.aquilafx.com), EuroCryptoFX (eurocryptofx.net and related page, account.tradingplatform26.com) and Pine Consulting LTD e BestProducts Limited (ltd-fx.com and related page, panel.ltd-fx.com). The other two are MTinvesting (mtinvsting.io) and MFS Securities Corporation (mfssecurities.com with related pages, client.mfssecurities.com and trade.mffssecurities.com).

CONSOB was empowered under Italy’s Growth Decree to order the take-down of websites offering financial services illegally in the European country. The regulator started implementation of the provision of the law in July 2019 and has now blocked 871 illegal trading websites over the last three years.

“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 explained in a statement published on Thursday.

Regulators Crackdown on Illegal Trading Platforms

Since CONSOB started cracking down on illegal sites in July 2019, the regulator has remained relentless in blacklisting unauthorized online trading platforms. Last month, the regulator blocked five platforms: ToroProfit, Plan B Ltd, EuropeanFX Markets Limited, CatenaFarmCapital and EaglestonesFinance.

Across Europe, other regulators are actively fishing out unauthorized financial services providers. For instance, in March, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission blacklisted six online trading websites including 21stfinance.net, pitbulls-markets.com and eurotradeforex.com. The Cypriot financial watchdog warned that the six websites have not been authorized to provide investment services or activities in the country.

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