(Reuters) -Worldline shares recovered some of their losses in early trade on Thursday, after allegations by a media consortium sent the payments group’s stock falling by 38% on Wednesday, wiping out 500 million euros ($585 million) of its market value.
A group of 21 European media outlets on Wednesday alleged Worldline continued doing business with merchants that German regulator BaFin had banned its German subsidiary Payone from working with in 2023 for failing to comply with anti-money laundering and anti-fraud requirements.
In response to the reports, the French company said that, since 2023, it had strengthened merchant risk controls and terminated non-compliant client relationships.
Trading in Worldline’s shares was temporarily halted by Euronext Paris on Thursday morning after the stock rose as much as 12.1%.
The group’s shares endured their second-biggest one-day loss since October 2023 on Wednesday.
($1 = 0.8549 euros)
(Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro; Editing by Matt Scuffham)
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