Wise plc, the London-listed international payments company formerly known as TransferWise, saw its shares crater on June 1 after the Bureau of Investigative Journalism reported that Belgian prosecutors had opened an investigation into the firm’s operations. The probe centers on allegations that Wise accounts were used to launder approximately €500 million, roughly $583 million, connected to fraud, drug trafficking, and corruption across multiple European countries.
Shares plummeted as much as 20% intraday before clawing back some losses. By the closing bell, the stock had settled around 9-15% lower.
What triggered the investigation
The Belgian investigation was reportedly sparked by hundreds of cross-border judicial requests that flagged suspicious transactions flowing through Wise accounts. The scope is notable: €500 million in potentially illicit funds allegedly tied not just to garden-variety fraud, but to drug trafficking and corruption across European jurisdictions.
Wise Europe, the company’s EU operations arm, is headquartered in Belgium. Belgium serves as Wise’s gateway to the broader European market through the financial services passporting framework, which allows a firm regulated in one EU member state to operate across the bloc.
