Wise investigated in Belgium over money-laundering control concerns | Financial sector
Wise, a UK-based international money transfer service and favorite of the London fintech scene, confirmed that it had answered questions from Belgian prosecutors investigating money laundering and that its shares had fallen in value.
One disclosure to the stock market“We are currently working with the Brussels prosecutor to respond to questions about our work, as we routinely do with regulators and law enforcement,” Wise said.
“His office’s investigations remain incomplete and no specific findings have been shared with us to date.”
The company’s shares fell more than 10% in early afternoon trading as investors digested official confirmation of talks with the Belgian prosecutor’s office.
The London-based firm, which has 19 million customers, processes 4.7 million transactions a day and is valued at more than £8 billion, made the statement in response to a statement. report By the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ).
The report claimed that Belgian authorities were investigating whether Wise accounts were “used by criminals to launder the proceeds of fraud, corruption and drug trafficking.”
Prosecutors in Belgium reportedly launched the investigation last year based on Wise’s accounts, which included hundreds of requests for cross-border assistance in criminal cases from more than 30 countries across Europe.
The transactions under investigation amounted to €500 million (£433 million).
Authorities in Brussels, Belgium, where the company has European operations, said they were investigating “indications of non-compliance with anti-money laundering legislation,” according to the report.
The Guardian has approached Belgium’s central directorate against serious and organized crime (DJSOC) for comment.
“Like every financial institution, we face the reality of increasingly sophisticated bad actors seeking to exploit our platform, and we are continually investing in technology-enabled systems and teams to stay ahead of ever-evolving threats,” Wise told investors.
“We start by verifying customers before they open an account, and we continue to monitor hundreds of data points in real time as customers use our products; we have teams reviewing transactions, removing customers when necessary, and proactively reporting suspicious activity to law enforcement.
“We take our responsibility incredibly seriously. Approximately one-third of Wise’s global team is dedicated to protecting our customers from financial crime, and this focus is shared across all our teams.”
The company, formerly known as TransferWise, specializes in fast cross-border payments. The 2021 float made its co-founders billionaires.
As of last month, London hosted only the company’s secondary listing after Wise moved its main trading hub to the US.
In 2024, the company’s co-founder and CEO, Kristo Käärmann, fine £350,000 for deliberately failing to inform the council regulator of “significant tax matters”.
