Less than three days after the first revelations from the “Dirty Payments” investigation, the Brussels public prosecutor announced on Friday the launch of a judicial inquiry into money laundering targeting the Belgian branch of the Worldline group, a French-owned digital payments company.
The investigation, conducted by Belgian newspapers Le Soir and De Standaard along with 19 other international media outlets under the coordination of the European Investigative Collaborations (EIC) network, claims that Worldline facilitated electronic payment processing for businesses suspected of illegal activities without complying with anti-money laundering obligations.
Journalists reported that these operations involved illegal streaming sites, adult platforms, and unlicensed gambling services. The investigation highlighted that the Belgian branch of the group, based in Brussels, played a central role over a decade in managing thousands of high-risk merchants.
It allegedly implemented practices to conceal fraud rates and processed the majority of the group’s suspicious transactions, including those related to prostitution and online scams.
The Federal Judicial Police have been assigned the case.
According to Reuters, shares in Worldline fell by 41% this week after the allegations were made public.
