Wise Loses Over £1bn in Market Value as Belgian Prosecutors Investigate Drug Trafficking Links
Wise Faces Belgian Investigation Over €500m in Suspected Criminal Transactions
Wise, the British financial technology company, lost more than £1bn in market value on Monday after it disclosed it is cooperating with Belgian prosecutors investigating suspicious payments allegedly linked to criminals and drug traffickers. The probe centres on transactions worth approximately €500m (£432m) processed through Wise’s payment platform.
Shares in the £10bn company, which holds a dual listing on the London and New York stock exchanges, fell by as much as 15 percent following the disclosure.
What the Investigation Involves
According to the Bureau for Investigative Journalism, European prosecutors are examining “indications of non-compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) legislation” by Wise’s European division, which is headquartered in Belgium.
Police forces across Europe allegedly found that Wise accounts had been connected to hundreds of cross-border criminal proceedings spanning 30 countries. The investigation is confined to Wise’s European operations and does not affect its UK business.
Wise issued a measured statement acknowledging the inquiry. “We are currently working with the Brussels prosecutor to respond to queries about our business, as we routinely do with regulators and law-enforcement authorities,” the company said, adding that the investigation remained “incomplete” and that “no specific findings have been shared with us to date.”
A Pattern of Regulatory Scrutiny
This is not the first time Wise has faced questions about the robustness of its financial controls. In July 2024, the company agreed to pay $4.2m (£3.4m) to settle claims brought by multiple US states over alleged breaches of the Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money-laundering and terrorist-financing laws.
California officials stated at the time that Wise had been found “not in compliance with certain requirements, creating the potential that its services could be used to support money laundering, terrorism financing, or other illegal activities.”
Background: A Fintech Built on Accessibility
Wise, formerly known as TransferWise, was founded in 2011 by Kristo Käärmann and built its business on the promise of cheap international money transfers, bypassing the high fees charged by traditional banks. The platform processed more than £180bn in international payments last year.
The service became particularly popular among migrants from Eastern Europe, South America, and India sending remittances home, as well as users who lack access to conventional banking. Wise currently serves approximately three million customers in the UK and 15 million globally.
The Belgian investigation lands at a sensitive moment for the company, which recently completed a transfer of its primary stock listing from the London Stock Exchange to the New York Stock Exchange — a move that had already drawn scrutiny from those concerned about the hollowing out of London’s capital markets.