Wise investigated in Belgium over money-laundering control concerns

Wise, the UK-based international money transfer service and darling of the London fintech scene, has confirmed it is answering questions from Belgian prosecutors investigating money laundering, sending its shares tumbling. In a statement to the stock market , Wise said it was “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.” Shares in the company plunged by more than 10% by early afternoon, as investors digested official confirmation of discussions with the Belgian prosecutor’s office. The London-based firm, which has 19 million customers, processes 4.7m transactions a day and is valued at more than £8bn, issued the statement in response to a report by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ). The report claimed Belgian authorities were investigating whether Wise accounts had been “used by criminals to launder the proceeds of fraud, corruption and drug trafficking”. Prosecutors in Belgium reportedly opened the investigation last year, on the basis that Wise accounts had featured in hundreds of requests for cross-border help in criminal proceedings from more than 30 countries across Europe. The transactions under investigation amounted to €500m (£433m). …