Belgian authorities are investigating Wise over money laundering concerns, with prosecutors in Brussels examining whether the fintech firm’s platform was used to process hundreds of millions of pounds linked to fraud, corruption and drug trafficking. The probe, which began last year and is said to be at an advanced stage, centres on alleged failures to identify customers and their activities, in breach of anti-money laundering legislation.
The investigation
The Belgian public prosecutor’s office told French media that the inquiry was “at an advanced stage and nearing its conclusion”. It said 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”. The investigation reportedly involves transactions worth approximately €500 million (£432.8 million).
According to prosecutors, the probe was triggered after Wise accounts appeared in hundreds of requests for cross-border judicial assistance from more than 30 European countries. Those requests related to criminal proceedings involving alleged offences including fraud, corruption, illegal gambling and drug trafficking. The investigation is being conducted by the Brussels prosecutor’s office, which is examining whether the company’s systems allowed criminals to move illicit funds undetected.
Belgium serves as the regulatory home for Wise’s European operations. Wise Europe SA is a payment institution authorised by the National Bank of Belgium, and it relies on the EU’s financial services passporting framework to serve customers across the bloc. This is not the first time the firm’s compliance in Belgium has faced scrutiny: in 2021, the National Bank of Belgium required Wise to undertake a remediation programme after identifying deficiencies in customer documentation, including a lack of proof of address for hundreds of thousands of customers.
Market reaction
Wise shares slumped on Monday, falling as much as 20% in early trading before paring some losses to close 9% lower in afternoon trading. The drop followed a report by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism that revealed the existence of the Belgian investigation and its scale. The stock slide reflects investor concern about the potential impact on the company’s reputation and operations, particularly given its reliance on its Belgian hub for European business.
Wise has a secondary listing on the London market after switching its primary listing to New York last month. The company moved its main listing to the Nasdaq in May 2026 to access a larger pool of investors.
Prosecutors’ concerns over anti-money laundering compliance
The core of the Belgian investigation is the allegation that Wise failed to comply with anti-money laundering (AML) legislation, specifically in its customer due diligence processes. Prosecutors said the findings point to “indications of non-compliance … particularly due to a failure to identify customers and their activities”. This means authorities suspect that Wise did not adequately verify who was using its accounts or what those accounts were being used for, allowing the platform to be exploited for criminal purposes.
The concerns echo previous regulatory actions against Wise. In 2022, the Abu Dhabi Financial Services Regulatory Authority fined the firm $360,000 (£267,471) for breaching AML requirements, including failures to identify and verify the source of funds for high-risk customers and to obtain senior management approval for business relationships with high-risk clients. In July 2025, Wise’s US subsidiary was fined a total of $4.2 million by regulators in six states — New York, California, Massachusetts, Texas, Minnesota and Nebraska — for violations of the Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering obligations, with regulators citing significant weaknesses in suspicious activity reporting, due diligence for high-risk customers and data integrity. Separately, Wise co-founder and chief executive Kristo Käärmann was fined £350,000 in 2024 for deliberately failing to inform the City regulator of “significant tax issues”.
The broader context of the investigation is an industry-wide concern about the vulnerability of electronic money institutions to financial crime. The UK Treasury’s national risk assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing, published in 2025, identified the e-money sector — which includes Wise — as booming due to convenience and accessibility, but raised the threat level to “high”. The report noted the sector’s attractiveness to criminals for managing and laundering funds cross-border and its increasing exposure to high-risk jurisdictions.
Wise’s response
Wise confirmed it is working with the Brussels prosecutor’s office, saying: “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. His office’s inquiries are still incomplete and no specific findings have been shared with us to date. As such, it would be speculative for us to comment on any allegations. We will continue to engage with the Brussels prosecutor’s office if and when any specific findings are made available to us.”
The company described requests for information from authorities as “a normal part of operations and are not, in themselves, indicative of non-compliance with anti-money laundering requirements or of any wrongdoing”.
Wise also detailed its financial crime prevention measures, stating that about a third of its global workforce is “dedicated to protecting our customers from financial crime and this focus is shared across all of our teams”. The firm said it verifies customers before they open an account, reviews transactions and monitors “hundreds of data points in real time as customers use our products”. It employs machine learning models to spot fraud, operates 24/7 phone support and runs millions of checks daily. Wise added that it offboards customers when necessary and proactively reports suspicious activity to law enforcement. The company invested £131 million in the six months to September 2025 to support capabilities needed in a highly regulated environment and to combat financial crime.
“Combating financial crime is an industry-wide challenge that Wise takes extremely seriously,” the company said.
