Consob shuts down Internet for TradeATF for disobedience

The Italian regulator banned the activities of Hoch Capital in December 2019 after the Cypriot broker did not comply with the requirements.

The Italian financial regulator, Consob, once again sent its anger at Hoch Capital Ltd, a forex and CFD broker with CySEC license, who was ordered to cease operations in the country back in December. The regulator contacted Italy’s Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block access to the Hoch website at tradeatf.com.

Cysec is perhaps known for announcing a report break recently for brokers amid COVID-19 which has devastated the usual operation of companies around the world. It is widely considered to be one of the most prominent regulators worldwide.

A Consob statement said that Hoch Capital Ltd, which is a Cypriot investment company, violated the ban placed on it by Consob on December 5, 2019 (decision No. 21171 of December 5, 2019), in accordance with paragraph 7 of Article 4 of Legislative Act No. 58/1998 to continue providing investment services, as well as attracting new customers in Italy.

According to the regulator, it acts in the interests of Italian investors, as the Cypriot broker could not eliminate the violations after repeated warnings. We are talking about such essential requirements as protection from a negative balance, the lack of pressure on clients from the broker’s staff with the requirement to deposit more funds into accounts and offer bonuses and other incentives.

Recent measures have allowed the regulator to request Internet providers to block access to the broker’s resources for Italian investors. It should be noted that such steps are very common. Over the past few months, regulators have blocked almost 200 domains.

We can remember that in March 2019, the broker settled the conflict with his regulator by paying a fine of 200,000 thousand euros for violating the Law on Investment Services, Activities and Regulated Markets.