Overview
- Wise confirmed on Monday that it is cooperating with the Brussels public prosecutor’s office while investigators examine roughly €500 million in transactions flagged across more than 30 European jurisdictions.
- Prosecutors are probing whether Wise accounts were used to launder proceeds from fraud, corruption and drug trafficking and say the inquiry, opened last year, is at an advanced stage and nearing conclusion.
- The report that prompted the probe followed hundreds of cross‑border judicial assistance requests that repeatedly identified Wise accounts, reflecting how its Brussels‑based EU passporting hub concentrates queries.
- Investors reassessed risk after the news, with Wise shares tumbling as much as about 20% intraday before partly recovering and closing materially lower, erasing billions in market value.
- The case sits on top of earlier compliance issues — a 2022 National Bank of Belgium remediation order and a July 2025 $4.2m US state settlement — and could lead to fines, remedial orders or wider regulatory reviews that would affect European customers and operations.