Moneytransfer firm Wise is under investigation by prosecutors in Belgium overconcerns that its accounts were used to launder the proceeds of fraud,corruption and drug trafficking, the company confirmed today (Monday) after theinquiry was first reportedby The Bureau of Investigative Journalism.The casecenters on about €500 million in suspicious transactions. Wise accounts hadturned up in hundreds of requests for cross-border judicial assistance frommore than 30 European countries, according to the report. It is thelatest in a run of compliance episodes for the company since its 2021 Londonlisting.Half a Billion Euros inFlagged TransfersBrusselsprosecutors opened the investigation last year after noticing how often Wiseaccounts appeared in criminal proceedings across the continent, the reportsaid. They are now examining "indications of non-compliance withanti-money laundering" rules by the company, according to the prosecutor'soffice.Anti-moneylaundering rules require payment firms to verify customers, watch for unusualactivity and report it to authorities. The half-billion-euro figure and thespread across more than 30 countries reflect how widely Wise is used, and whyinvestigators have taken an interest in its anti-money laundering controls.Wise, theLondon-listed firm once known as TransferWise, says it holds more than 80regulatory licenses and serves over 19 million active customers, processingaround 4.7 million transactions a day. Wisereported more than $243 billion in cross-border transactions for its 2026financial year and said it saved customers over $3.3 billion, figures drawnfrom its own disclosures.Wise Says the InquiriesAre IncompleteIn itsresponse, Wise said it is working with the Brussels prosecutor and that nospecific findings have been shared with it so far. It said "it would bespeculative for us to comment on any allegations."Wise also pointed to its corporate structure as thereason so many requests funnel into Belgium. ItsEuropean business is based there and serves the rest of the region through theEU passporting system, so law-enforcement requests from across the bloc arerouted to Belgium rather than to local offices in each country, the companysaid.Filingsuspicious-activity reports and answering law-enforcement requests are a normalpart of operations and do not by themselves signal wrongdoing, Wise said. The companyadded that around a third of its global staff works on protecting customersfrom financial crime.A Familiar Pattern ofCompliance ScrutinyThis is notthe first time Wise's controls have drawn official attention. The National Bankof Belgium, which supervises the firm in Europe, forced it into a formalremediation plan after a 2021 review found it lacked proof of address forhundreds of thousands of customers. The plan required Wise to chase thosecustomers for documents within weeks and freeze accounts that did not comply.In July2025, several US state regulators fined Wise $4.2 million over anti-moneylaundering shortcomings and ordered it to review previously closed accounts.Years earlier, Abu Dhabi's market regulator fined Wise $360,000 for gaps in its AML systems, thoughit found no evidence that laundering had actually taken place.The UK'sFinancial Conduct Authority has separately opened an investigation into ChiefExecutive Kristo Käärmann after a personal tax fine. Missing oroutdated customer records are a recurring theme, with one analysis finding datagaps behind about two-thirds of UK AML penalties over five years.Rivals Have Drawn TheirOwn PenaltiesWise is notthe only fast-growing fintech facing money-laundering questions as it scalesacross borders. Revolut, aLondon-based rival, was fined €3.5 million by Lithuania'scentral bank inApril 2025 for weak transaction monitoring that let suspicious activity slipthrough.Monthslater, Australia's financial-crime agency penalized Revolut's local unit for filing reports late underanti-money laundering laws. In Belgium itself, ING agreed in May to a €1.6million settlement over its failure to flag suspicious transactions tied to aformer EU commissioner.Belgianauthorities have been tightening financial-crime enforcement, with plans for adedicated national financial prosecutor and a new criminal code that tookeffect in April. Wise saidit would keep its shareholders and the market informed at the appropriate time.The company has not been charged, and prosecutors have not published anyfindings.This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.