Wise Faces Criminal Money-Laundering Probe Over €500M in Suspicious Transactions

The scale of the inquiry is substantial. The probe encompasses more than €500 million (roughly £420 million) in suspicious transactions that were routed through Wise accounts and spanned over 30 European countries . The investigation was opened after Belgian authorities discovered that Wise's name repeatedly appeared in hundreds of international criminal-assistance requests . Although the investigation began as early as 2022, its public disclosure in June 2026 and its description as being "at an advanced stage" caught the market off guard .

This criminal probe did not emerge in a vacuum. In early 2022, the National Bank of Belgium (BNB), which supervises Wise's European operations, had already identified significant anti-money laundering (AML) compliance gaps. The BNB found that Wise lacked proof-of-address documentation for hundreds of thousands of customers, a core requirement of Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations. Wise implemented a formal remediation plan in response, requiring affected customers to provide documentation or face account freezes .

Wise's Response

Wise has confirmed it is "working with the Brussels prosecutor to respond to queries about our business" . The company has emphasized that its engagement with the authorities is not equivalent to a finding of any wrongdoing and that it is cooperating fully with the investigation. A company statement stressed that inquiries from a prosecutor are a routine part of business and are not in themselves "indicative of non-compliance with anti-money laundering requirements or of any wrongdoing" .

At this stage, no formal charges have been filed against Wise or its European subsidiary. The investigation remains at the inquiry stage, though its "advanced" status suggests a conclusion could be forthcoming .

A Global Pattern of Regulatory Scrutiny

Since its public listing in July 2021, Wise has faced a mounting wave of regulatory actions and investigations related to its AML and compliance controls across three continents. The Belgian criminal probe is the most severe escalation to date but is the latest in a clear pattern.

Abu Dhabi (August 2022)

Less than a year after its IPO, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market fined Wise's local subsidiary, Wise Nuqud, $360,000 (Dh 1.32 million) for failing to "establish and maintain adequate AML systems and controls" . The regulator found specific failures, including the company's inability to properly verify the source of funds and wealth from high-risk customers before conducting transactions on their behalf. The FSRA's review did not find instances of actual money laundering, and the regulator noted Wise's cooperation and remediation efforts .

The United States (July 2025)

A coordinated multistate examination by regulators from California, New York, Massachusetts, Texas, Minnesota, and Nebraska resulted in a $4.2 million fine against Wise US, Inc. . The enforcement action was for violations of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) program requirements. The examination, covering the period from July 2022 to September 2023, uncovered deficiencies in Wise's internal AML reviews, its customer due diligence procedures, and its Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) processes .

As part of the settlement, Wise was ordered to conduct a lookback of previously closed accounts, enhance its SAR procedures, and hire an independent third party to verify corrective actions. The company is also required to submit quarterly compliance reports to the states for two years .

UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

No public enforcement action by the FCA against Wise has been identified in relation to AML controls. However, as an FCA-authorized electronic money institution and payment institution, Wise operates under the regulator’s ongoing supervision for financial-crime compliance. The lack of a public action does not indicate a lack of oversight, but it means the UK remains the only major jurisdiction in this pattern without a formal penalty or investigation.

What This Means for Wise

The cumulative picture is one of a high-growth fintech struggling to build compliance systems that match the scale and complexity of its global operations. The initial findings from Belgium in 2022 were addressable through a remediation plan. The fines in Abu Dhabi and the US, while significant, were civil regulatory actions. The criminal investigation in Brussels represents a different order of risk—one that could lead to criminal charges, larger financial penalties, and lasting reputational damage. Investors' sharp reaction on June 1 reflects a market reassessing that risk in real time.