Belgian investigation launched into money transfer service Wise

The Brussels public prosecutor’s office has launched a money-laundering investigation into Wise Europe, the European branch of the British international money transfer service, which has its headquarters in Brussels.

The prosecutor’s office suspects Wise may have failed to comply with its anti-money laundering obligations.

The case involves more than €500 million in suspicious transactions and what the prosecutor described as "hundreds of criminal cases".

Judicial authorities from some 30 European countries flagged transactions or accounts belonging to Wise Europe that may be linked to criminal offences, such as internet fraud, corruption, illegal casinos and drug trafficking.

These cases end up in Belgium because, since Brexit, Wise’s Brussels branch has been managing all payments and customers in the European market.

Because Wise operates across the whole of Europe from Belgium, all requests from the European authorities end up in Brussels. This is in contrast to banks, for example, which usually operate through local branches.

“The investigation is now at an advanced stage and nearing its conclusion,” the authorities said, adding that it focused “primarily on the use of Wise accounts for criminal purposes, with indications of non-compliance with anti-money laundering legislation”.

A spokesperson for the London-based parent company said that it took the fight against financial crime "extremely seriously" and that it was cooperating with the Brussels public prosecutor.

Wise - formerly TransferWise - is a company offering money transfers between different currencies at very low costs, founded by two Estonian businessmen, Kristo Käärmann and Taavet Hinrikus.

Last year Wise transferred some €200 billion around the world for 19 million customers, and generated a turnover of €1.4 billion, according to Le Soir.