Italy's Companies and Exchange Commission (CONSOB) has ordered internet service providers to block access to 10 investment websites that it says were offering financial services in the country without authorisation.
The move lifts the total number of websites blocked by CONSOB since July 2019 to 1,848, of which 240 relate to crypto-related activities.
The entities and domains named by the regulator are Swap Euro (swapeurobv.com), Vantage Global Limited (vantagemarkets.co and secure.vantagemarkets.co), Oskarinvest (oskarinvest.io), Neolin Capital Market Ltd (neolinfx.com), BP-Esolution (bp-esolution.com), and five code-style domains: aswd78.it, cdzg36.it, ezwq66.it, hree25.it and k9c3y.fr.
Powers used
CONSOB acted under the powers granted by the "Growth Decree", which allow it to block the websites of unauthorized financial intermediaries, and under the MiCAR framework — the EU regulation together with Legislative Decree No. 129/2024 — which covers the blocking of websites providing crypto-related services to Italian savers without authorisation.
Internet service providers operating in Italy are currently implementing the blocks. CONSOB said that, for technical reasons, the restrictions may take several days to take effect.
Evolving deceptive practices
The authority also pointed to the evolution of deceptive practices that exploit the internet to steal users' money and personal data. It cited increased use of tools such as "cloned" emails and websites, counterfeit profiles of political figures and celebrities, and content generated by artificial intelligence systems, including images, voices and videos, aimed at inducing investors to make harmful investment decisions.
