Paris stock exchange: Worldline falls, illicit transactions according to 'Dirty Payments' investigation

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Worldline collapsed on the Paris Stock Exchange under the weight of the journalistic investigation exposing illicit transactions carried out for years by 'suspicious' customers via the company's online payment system. Worldline reacted by stressing that it had strengthened its risk management and ensured its 'full compliance' with regulations. The stock hit a record low of EUR 3.42 and is at the bottom of the Stoxx Europe 600 index.

The investigation, called 'Dirty Payments' and conducted by some twenty international newspapers, the French website Mediapart, and coordinated by the European Investigative Collaborations (Eic) network, alleges that the company accepted 'suspicious' customers throughout Europe. In an article, the Belgian newspaper 'Le Soir', which took part in the investigation, writes that "over the past ten years, the Worldline group has handled, with total impunity, billions of euros in fraudulent or unethical payments on behalf of the worst players in online commerce: scammers, illegal casinos, controversial pornographic groups, prostitution sites, and alleged money laundering networks". The investigation is based in particular on confidential internal documents and data, adds 'Le Soir'.

In response to these revelations, Worldline stated that it had conducted a 'comprehensive review' of its portfolio of high-risk customers from 2023, including online casinos, securities brokerage services and adult dating, affecting merchants with recurring annual revenues of EUR 130 million in 2024. At the end of 2023, Worldline explained that it had discontinued its services 'to certain merchants considered to be high-risk' in the face of 'a general increase in cybercrime, the emergence of new fraudulent behaviour and the tightening of regulatory guidelines and market constraints'. "For information, according to the latest card network reports, our fraud rate is lower than the industry average, Worldline also stressed. All high-risk customers still active in the company's portfolio are 'now subject to enhanced monitoring, based on specific procedures', the company added.