Worldline hires new auditor to assess high-risk clients, media report says

PARIS, July 2 (Reuters) - French payments company Worldline WLN.PA has hired auditing firm Accuracy to assess its remaining portfolio of merchants engaged in risky activities, chairman Wilfried Verstraete told Les Echos newspaper.

Last month, a group of 21 European media outlets alleged that Worldline covered up client fraud to protect revenue. And Belgian prosecutors said last week they had opened an investigation into potential money laundering activities at its Belgian unit.

In response to the media reports, Worldline said that since 2023 it had strengthened merchant risk controls and terminated non-compliant client relationships.

In addition to hiring Accuracy, consultancy Oliver Wyman will also be brought in to review Worldline's control systems, Verstraete said in an interview published late on Tuesday in the French financial newspaper. Initial findings from the reviews will be published on July 30 with first-half results.