Abstract：Italy’s financial watchdog shuts down 9 websites for operating without regulatory approval, pushing the total number of blocked sites past 1,300.
Italys financial regulator, Consob, has issued blackout orders against nine more websites offering financial products and services without proper authorization. This action is part of a continued crackdown on abusive financial intermediation and unregulated investment schemes targeting Italian investors.
Targeted Sites Include Forex and Investment Platforms
he newly blacked-out websites include:
- Geneve Capital Invest – genevecapinvest.com and related domains
- Investium Group – investiumgroups.co
- ITradingFX – itradingfx.net
- Ustrade24 – ustrade24.com
- AlphaWealtExpertise – alphawealtexpertise.com and alphawealth-expertise.com
- NEX TRADE – nextradeltd.com
- XPTRADERS – xptraders.com
- FortiCard Limited – forti-card.com
- One additional site offering financial products without a prospectus
These websites were reportedly offering financial intermediation services or investment opportunities without having been authorized by Italian regulators. In some cases, platforms falsely claimed to be licensed or offered high-return investments with little transparency.
Authority Uses Special Powers to Block Access
Under Italys “Growth Decree” (Law No. 58/2019) and subsequent legislation, Consob has the authority to block access to websites that illegally offer financial services to Italian residents. Since gaining this power in 2019, the regulator has blocked over 1,300 websites, underscoring the growing threat of online investment fraud.
The blacklisted sites often appear professional, use cloned branding, or imitate the names of legitimate financial firms. Consob advises investors to verify the authorization status of any financial service provider through official registers before engaging in any transaction.
As the online financial sector expands, regulators across Europe are facing a surge in fraudulent schemes promoted through aggressive digital marketing. Platforms like WikiFX and other broker-checking tools have also been recommended by financial professionals to help users independently verify claims made by investment websites.
