Belgian Prosecutors Investigate Wise Over Suspected €500 Million Money Laundering Through Accounts
UK money transfer firm Wise faces an investigation by Belgian prosecutors over suspicions that its accounts facilitated criminal money laundering activities. French media outlets were informed by Belgian authorities that the probe, concentrated on Wise's European business rather than its UK operations, is in its advanced stages.
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) previously reported that Wise's platforms were implicated in approximately €500 million worth of suspicious transactions across 30 European countries. Following the confirmation of the investigation, Wise shares, listed in London and the US, experienced a sharp decline of 17.5%.
A spokesperson for the Brussels prosecutor's office stated that the findings primarily concern the use of Wise accounts for criminal purposes, citing indications of non-compliance with anti-money laundering legislation, specifically a failure to adequately identify customers and their activities.
Wise has affirmed its cooperation with the Brussels prosecutor, stating it is responding to queries about its business, a routine process with regulators and law enforcement. The company maintains that no specific findings have been shared with them to date, making comment on allegations speculative. They further noted that requests for information from law enforcement are a normal part of operations and do not inherently indicate non-compliance or wrongdoing.
Wise, founded in London in 2011 and processing approximately 4.7 million transactions daily for over 19 million customers globally, has faced prior scrutiny regarding its anti-money laundering (AML) controls. In 2024, the Financial Times reported the National Bank of Belgium identified hundreds of thousands of customers for whom Wise lacked proof of address. The company was also fined $4.2 million by six US states last year for AML compliance violations and $360,000 by Abu Dhabi's financial services regulator in 2022, with Wise stating it addressed concerns in each instance.
