Shares in neobank Wise plummet: Belgium investigates money laundering through its accounts
Belgian authorities suggest that Wise's accounts may have been used for money laundering / Photo: Primakov / Shutterstock.com
Shares of fintech company Wise collapsed by 19% in trading in London, after it became known that the Belgian authorities are investigating possible money laundering through the accounts of the neobank, reports Bloomberg. This is the strongest decline since Wise went public in 2021, the agency calculated. At the time of publication of this text quotes slightly offset losses and were down about 13%. The company's papers on the premarket of the Nasdaq exchange, where it moved the main listing, fell by 14.8%.
The Belgian prosecutor's office is checking information that Wise accounts could be used to legalize funds obtained as a result of fraud, drug trafficking and corruption, Bloomberg writes. The matter concerns transactions amounting to more than €500 million. According to the prosecutor's office, it is preparing to transfer the case to the criminal court.
The fintech company confirmed to the agency that it is cooperating with authorities as part of the investigation. It also said that it screens customers before opening an account, analyzes transactions, closes accounts if necessary and reports suspicious activity to law enforcement, among other monitoring measures.
In 2022, Wise was fined $360,000 by Abu Dhabi regulators for insufficient anti-money laundering procedures, Bloomberg recalls.
This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor
