CONSOB orders block of Vantage Global Limited's vantagemarkets.co over unauthorised services in Italy
Consob ordered Italian providers to block Vantage Global Limited's vantagemarkets.co over investment services offered in Italy without authorisation; the order does not allege fraud.
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Source: consob.it · published
What happened
On 15 October 2026, Italy's financial markets authority Consob announced that it had ordered the blocking of the Vantage Global Limited website www.vantagemarkets.co and associated page https://secure.vantagemarkets.co (Resolution No. 24168 of 14 October 2026) because the firm was providing investment services relating to financial instruments to Italian residents without the required authorisation. Consob's order concerns the lack of authorisation in Italy; it does not state that the firm committed fraud. Vantage Global Limited is the Vanuatu-licensed entity of the Vantage Markets broker group. The site was one of ten Consob ordered blocked that day, and Italian internet service providers are implementing the block. Consob advises investors to check that any operator is authorised before investing.
Consob's 15 October announcement brought the total number of websites it has ordered blocked since July 2019 to 1,848, of which 240 relate to crypto activities. It says that for technical reasons a block may take a few days to take effect.
How the scam works
Consob can order Italian internet providers to block websites of firms that offer investment services to Italian residents without the required authorisation. Such an order is about authorisation in Italy; a firm can hold a licence elsewhere and still be blocked for serving Italian residents without permission.
Consob says savers should check, before investing, that the operator of any website offering investment services is authorised in Italy. Investors who use firms not authorised in their country may lack local protections and complaint routes.
Source
CONSOB, "Latest warnings" notice of 15 October 2026 (website blocking orders of 14 October 2026).
Red flags
- An investment platform that isn't authorised by your own country's regulator.
- Separate client-portal domains linked from the main site.
If you were targeted
- 1Check that any operator is authorised with Consob (or your own regulator) before investing.
- 2If you already hold an account, contact the firm through its official channels about how the block affects you, and keep records.
- 3See Consob's 'Watch out for scams!' section for more advice.