BRUSSELS — Wise confirmed it is answering questions from Belgian prosecutors investigating potential money laundering through its Brussels-based European operations. The company stated it is "currently working with the Brussels prosecutor to respond to queries about our business, as we routinely do with regulators and law-enforcement authorities."
Belgian prosecutors opened the investigation last year after Wise accounts appeared in hundreds of cross-border criminal assistance requests from more than 30 European countries. Authorities are examining indications of non-compliance with anti-money laundering legislation, focusing on transactions totaling €500 million (£433 million). A report by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism said Belgian authorities were investigating whether Wise accounts had been "used by criminals to launder the proceeds of fraud, corruption and drug trafficking."
The Brussels prosecutor’s office has not shared any specific findings with Wise to date. The company’s European operations are headquartered in Brussels, serving its 19 million customers who process 4.7 million transactions daily. Wise, formerly known as TransferWise, specializes in rapid cross-border payments and is valued at more than £8 billion.
Wise told investors it takes its responsibility "incredibly seriously" and emphasized that around one-third of its global team is dedicated to protecting customers from financial crime. The company said it verifies customers before account opening and continuously monitors hundreds of data points in real time, with teams reviewing transactions, offboarding customers when necessary, and reporting suspicious activity to law enforcement. "Like every financial institution, we face the reality of increasingly sophisticated bad actors attempting to exploit our platform, and we continually invest in tech-enabled systems and teams to stay ahead of ever-evolving threats," Wise told investors. Following Wise’s confirmation of its cooperation with Belgian prosecutors, the company’s shares fell by more than 10% in early afternoon trading.
No independent assessment was available for this report.