Wise Investor Probe
Pomerantz Law Firm Investigates Potential Claims for Wise Group plc (WSE) Investors
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Pomerantz LLP announced on June 23, 2026 that it is investigating Wise Group plc (Nasdaq: WSE) for potential securities fraud. The probe centers on allegations that Wise's accounts were used by criminals to launder money — and that the company may have hidden the scale of the problem from investors. GlobeNewswire reported the announcement.
The legal scrutiny piles on fast. Rosen Law Firm is also probing Wise over the same allegations, according to Barchart. Wise shares already fell as much as 19% on June 1 after a bombshell report revealed Belgian prosecutors had opened a criminal investigation into the fintech giant — just weeks after its high-profile Nasdaq debut.
Belgian Prosecutors Tie Wise Accounts to Drug Trafficking and Fraud
In late 2025, Brussels prosecutors quietly opened a criminal inquiry into Wise Europe, the company's Belgian subsidiary. The investigation covers roughly €500 million ($582 million) in suspicious transactions, according to Markets Financial Content. Prosecutors in more than 30 European countries sent judicial requests to Belgium flagging criminal activity on the Wise platform.
The Brussels Public Prosecutor's Office has been unusually blunt. It cited "indications of non-compliance" tied to a "failure to identify customers and their activities" and linked the platform to "fraud, corruption, and drug trafficking." The office says the probe is at an "advanced stage." Wise says the requests are "not indicative of wrongdoing" — but that defense has done little to calm investors.
Nasdaq Debut Turned Sour Within Weeks of Listing
Wise moved its primary listing from London to Nasdaq on May 11, 2026, trading under the ticker WSE. The goal was to tap deeper US capital markets. The move lasted less than a month before the Belgian probe went public on June 1, 2026, sending the stock into freefall.
Shares dropped as much as 19% intraday on June 1 — the worst single day in the company's market history. They closed at $11.54 on June 2 after paring some losses. Pomerantz and Rosen Law Firm allege Wise may have concealed AML (anti-money laundering) failures from investors during the listing process, according to Barchart.
CEO Fined, Bank Partnerships Now at Risk
Wise co-founder and CEO Kristo Käärmann was fined £350,000 by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority in March 2026 for failing to disclose a "deliberate tax default." The FCA cleared him on "integrity" grounds but ruled he acted carelessly. Käärmann signed the company's recent SEC filings related to the probe.
The bigger threat may be to Wise's corporate business. The company licenses its technology to Morgan Stanley and Standard Chartered through a product called "Wise Platform." Analyst Gautam Pillai of Peel Hunt warned that AML questions "directly undermine its ability to scale partnerships." Wise already spent £131 million on compliance in late 2025 — up 35% — and a criminal finding could force that number even higher.
This Is Not Wise's First Money-Laundering Fine
Wise has faced AML trouble before. In 2025, it settled a $4.2 million case with six US state regulators over Bank Secrecy Act violations. In 2022, Abu Dhabi's financial regulator fined it $360,000 for similar control failures. Those were civil fines. The Belgian case is different — it carries the threat of a criminal court summons, according to Markets Financial Content.
Wise serves 19 million active customers and processes 4.7 million transactions every day. The company claims one-third of its 1,600-plus staff works on fighting financial crime. Investors who want to join the Pomerantz investigation can contact lead attorney Danielle Peyton. No class action has been filed yet, but the window for legal action is open, according to GlobeNewswire.
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