Wise Plc, the London-listed cross-border payments company, is dealing with a significant compliance problem. Belgian prosecutors are investigating potential money laundering activities involving the firm’s platform, and the market’s reaction was swift and brutal.

Shares of Wise dropped as much as 19% intraday on June 1, marking the company’s worst single-day performance since it went public in 2021. By mid-morning, the stock had clawed back some ground but was still trading roughly 13% lower.

What Belgian prosecutors are looking at

The Brussels Public Prosecutor’s Office opened its investigation last year. At the center of the probe: Wise accounts allegedly linked to suspicious transactions exceeding €500 million, or roughly $582 million.

Those transactions reportedly connect to fraud, drug trafficking, and corruption cases spanning more than 30 countries. The investigation was triggered by cross-border assistance requests that flagged Wise accounts as conduits for the suspicious funds.

Wise has confirmed it is cooperating with investigators. The company has also pointed out that no specific findings have been disclosed by prosecutors yet.

A pattern, not an isolated incident

In 2022, the National Bank of Belgium issued a remediation order against Wise, requiring the company to address lapses in its customer due diligence processes.

In July 2025, Wise settled with six US states for $4.2 million over deficiencies in its anti-money laundering program.

Wise is far from the only financial firm to face this kind of scrutiny in Belgium. ING and Worldline have both been targets of similar investigations in the country, reflecting a broader regulatory crackdown on payment firms operating in European financial hubs.

What this means for investors

Wise has been hiring personnel for stablecoin-related roles, signaling an intent to expand into digital asset services. Regulatory trouble of this magnitude could easily delay or derail those plans, as financial regulators are not inclined to approve new product lines for companies under active criminal investigation for money laundering.

For anyone holding Wise stock or considering a position, the key variable is whether Wise’s compliance systems were robust enough to catch €500 million in suspicious activity flowing through its platform, and whether prosecutors believe the company did enough when red flags appeared. That distinction, between negligence and intent, will likely determine whether this ends with a fine or something much worse.