Wise stock fell as much as 19% in London on Monday after Belgian prosecutors confirmed they are investigating the fintech company's European operations over potential money-laundering offenses tied to more than €500 million ($582 million) in suspicious transactions.
According to Bloomberg, prosecutors opened the case last year and have described it as nearly complete, with the inquiry centered on whether criminal networks exploited Wise Europe's services to move money derived from fraud, corruption, and drug trafficking. A formal summons to criminal court is being drafted, and the office intends to forward its conclusions to the National Bank of Belgium once the process is complete.
"The findings mainly relate to the use of Wise accounts for criminal purposes," the prosecutor's office said, according to Bloomberg. A spokesperson for the office told BBC that the investigation pointed to "indications of non-compliance with anti-money laundering legislation, particularly due to a failure to identify customers and their activities."
The company acknowledged engaging with Brussels prosecutors on their inquiries but said it has not yet received any formal findings from the office. "It would be speculative for us to comment on any allegations," the company said in a statement. Wise explained that its European entity is based in Belgium, which means law-enforcement requests from across the European Economic Area are directed there.
In its statement, Wise characterized law-enforcement inquiries as "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 also noted that fighting financial crime is a priority, with approximately one-third of all employees working in that area globally.
On U.S. markets, shares fell 11% shortly after trading opened, according to Bloomberg. The 19.3% peak decline in London marked the steepest one-day retreat for the stock since Wise's 2021 market debut.
The investigation is not the first time Wise has faced regulatory scrutiny over its anti-money laundering controls. A settlement of $4.2 million was reached between Wise's U.S. unit and regulators across six states over AML violations last year, according to BBC, while Abu Dhabi's financial regulator imposed a $360,000 penalty on the company back in 2022 over deficiencies in its anti-money laundering controls. Wise has maintained that it took corrective action following each of those enforcement actions.
The company, which shifted its main stock listing to the Nasdaq $NDAQ exchange last month, reported a global customer base exceeding 19 million and a daily transaction volume of roughly 4.7 million. Belgium serves as the hub for its European business, giving it access to broader continental markets through E.U. passporting arrangements.