MARKET REPORT: Violation of Russian sanctions drives payments company Wise into the red

Payments firm Wise slipped into the red yesterday after flouting UK laws imposed on Russia last year by allowing a sanctioned person to withdraw £250.

The money was withdrawn from a business account at Wise in June 2022 and transferred to a debit card in the name of the person who had been sanctioned a day earlier. The person was not named.

A report from the Treasury Department’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) said the problem, which the London-listed group self-reported in July, was “moderately serious”.

Wise’s policy at the time allowed a customer who was found to potentially match the profile of someone on the sanctions list to continue having access to their debit card in the face of high false positive rates.

“OFSI does not consider the violation serious enough to penalize Wise,” it said in a statement.

Violation: Payments company Wise was found to have broken UK laws imposed on Russia by allowing a sanctioned person to withdraw £250 last year

However, the nature and circumstances of this breach have been assessed as moderate and disclosure is the appropriate and proportionate enforcement action.”

According to its website, Wise closed all accounts with addresses registered in Russia in May last year. Its shares fell 0.5 per cent, or 3p, to 640.2p.

The London stock market ended the last trading session of the week with the FTSE 100 down 0.46 percent or 34.54 points to 7439.13 and the FTSE 250 up 0.22 percent or 41.18 points to 18,605.17.

The blue-chip index fell nearly 3 percent in August on concerns about rising interest rates, rising inflation and the health of China’s economy. The IT group Kainos benefited from customers investing in digital projects.

As a result, the Company expects to meet market guidance for the fiscal year ended March 2024. The share price fell 1 percent or 12 pence to 1215 pence.

Grafton has remained optimistic about its prospects even as the cost of doing business has skyrocketed and households are cutting spending on home renovations as prices and interest rates rise.

The group, which includes building materials supplier Selco, saw profits fall 29.3 percent to £93.6 million in the first six months of this year, while sales rose 3.2 percent to £1.19 billion.

Stock clock – Sondrel

Sondrel fell to a record low after the chip designer and supplier warned that earnings would be far less than hoped.

The planned production dates for three projects have been delayed by six to twelve months due to rising inflation and weaker demand.

Income from the projects has been postponed to 2024. Sondrel now expects to post sales of at least £13m this year – which is below market forecasts. Shares, which were trading at 55p in October 2022, fell 61.8 per cent, or 34.6p, to 21.4p.

Boss Eric Born said the results “underpinned a resilient performance given the difficult first-half conditions”.

Grafton also launched a £50m share buyback programme.

Shares rose 0.8 percent, or 7.1 pence, to 862.5 pence.

Bespoke electronics maker DiscoverIE has completed the £21m acquisition of Newport-based Silvertel.

The deal was announced on August 1 and sees the newly acquired company, which makes parts that improve the efficiency of battery chargers, being based in its magnet and controls division.

City broker Peel Hunt reiterated its “buy” rating as Discoverie shares “look great” ahead of the company’s upcoming October trading update.

As a result, shares rose 1.1 per cent, or 8p, to 730p.

Mike Ashley’s retail empire increased its hold on Boohoo after Frasers Group, which includes Sports Direct, Jack Wills and Flannels, increased its stake in the fashion brand to 9.1% from 7.8%.

Boohoo was up 7.5 percent, or 2.49 pence, to 35.65 pence, while Frasers Group was up 1.3 percent, or 10 pence, to 806.5 pence.

Harland & Wolff, the Belfast shipyard that built Titanic, rose 17 per cent, or 2.5p, to 17.25p after the company won a key court ruling over its Irish gas storage project.