Wirecard Bank in Germany may have been illegally processing payments from online gambling sites, violating local German laws, according to local reports stemming from the release of the Paradise Papers.
Online gambling is not legal in Germany, and a report by the German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung charged that Wirecard may be violating local legislation by managing payments carried out by gambling operators to their customers. The report cited the Paradise Papers research which revealed that several banks, including Wirecard Bank, have been used by online casinos to process their payments.
The action could leave banks open to charges of supporting illegal online operations in the country, as well as charges of money laundering.
The bank firmly denied the charge in a statement and said the company followed German law in every way.
Despite land-based casino gambling being legal in Germany, online gambling is officially prohibited as of January 2017. The only exception is in the Schleswig-Holstein state.
