Belgian prosecutors are investigating UK money transfer company Wise over suspicions that criminals used its accounts to facilitate illicit fund movements. The probe focuses exclusively on the firm’s European operations and is nearing its conclusion, authorities confirmed Sunday.
The Brussels prosecutor’s office told AFP that the investigation is now at an advanced stage. “The findings primarily concern the use of Wise accounts for criminal purposes, with indications of non-compliance with anti-money laundering legislation, particularly due to a failure to identify customers and their activities,” a spokesperson for the prosecutors said. The announcement follows reporting by The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ), which detailed suspicions that the platform facilitated roughly €500 million (£432 million) in questionable transactions across 30 European countries.
Shares in Wise fell sharply by 17.5% on Monday after the news broke. The company, which was founded in London in 2011, is dual-listed in the United Kingdom and the United States, having moved its primary stock listing to the Nasdaq last month. Wise reported serving 19 million customers globally and processing approximately 4.7 million transactions daily.
Wise said it is cooperating with the Brussels prosecutor’s office and other law enforcement agencies, but emphasized that it has not received evidence of misconduct. “No specific findings have been shared with us to date,” a company spokesperson said. “As such, it would be speculative for us to comment on any allegations.” The firm added that inquiries from regulators and police are “a normal part of operations and are not, in themselves, indicative of non-compliance with anti-money laundering requirements or of any wrongdoing.”
The company highlighted the operational challenges of preventing financial crime on its platform. Wise said it faces “the reality of increasingly sophisticated bad actors attempting to exploit our platform” and stated it takes financial crime “extremely seriously.” About one-third of the company’s global staff is dedicated to protecting customers from illicit activity.
Belgian and international regulators have scrutinized Wise’s compliance controls in recent years. The Financial Times reported in 2024 that the National Bank of Belgium instructed the firm to improve its verification processes after auditors discovered the company lacked proof of address for hundreds of thousands of customers. Separately, Wise paid a $4.2 million (£3.1 million) settlement to six U.S. states last year over anti-money laundering compliance violations, and it was fined $360,000 by Abu Dhabi’s financial services regulator in 2022. Wise said in each case that it had subsequently addressed the regulators’ concerns.