Consob Expands Clampdown on Unauthorised Investment Platforms, Total Blocks Reach 1,671

Italy’s financial regulator, the Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (Consob), has ordered the blocking of five additional websites found to be unlawfully offering investment services, reinforcing its ongoing effort to contain retail exposure to unregulated financial operators.

The latest action targets a mix of CFD-style trading platforms and multi-asset investment sites operating without authorisation. The regulator’s intervention reflects a continued focus on online distribution channels, where unauthorised firms increasingly mimic legitimate brokers through cloned interfaces, webtrader portals, and client dashboards.

With these additions, the total number of websites blocked by Consob since July 2019 has reached 1,671, including 168 linked to crypto-asset activity. The steady increase highlights how digital channels remain the primary vector for cross-border financial misconduct targeting European retail investors.

Rather than isolated incidents, the regulator’s findings point to a broader pattern: operators leveraging sophisticated digital infrastructure—often combining multiple domains, mirrored login portals, and branded trading environments—to create the appearance of regulated services. In many cases, these platforms blur the line between CFDs, forex, and crypto products, while avoiding disclosure obligations such as prospectuses or white papers.

Consob also flagged the growing use of advanced deception techniques, including cloned websites, impersonation of public figures, and AI-generated promotional content designed to enhance credibility and urgency. These tactics are increasingly embedded into marketing funnels that guide users from social media advertisements to fully operational trading interfaces.

The regulator reiterated that investors should verify whether a firm is authorised before engaging with any platform and ensure that required documentation—such as approved prospectuses—has been published. The blocking process itself is being implemented by Italian internet service providers, although full enforcement may take several days due to technical constraints.

The action forms part of Consob’s broader mandate under Italy’s “Growth Decree” and subsequent legislative updates, which expanded its authority to restrict access to unauthorised financial intermediaries and related promotional infrastructure.

Blocked Websites

Entity	Notes	Screenshot
Alantra MC Limited alantmc.com	Unauthorised investment services; includes webtrader portal
Index-Ftse index-ftse.com	Multi-page trading interface targeting retail investors	/
Morgan Capital morgan-capital.ltd	CFD-related offering without regulatory approval
Viforex viforex.com	Online trading platform with client account interface
Morvath morvathltd.com	Multi-domain structure with investor login portals