Smurfing (Structuring)
Definition
Breaking a large cash sum into multiple smaller transactions, each below the mandatory reporting threshold, to avoid triggering Currency Transaction Reports or equivalent filings.
Related terms
- Integration
- The third stage, in which laundered funds re-enter the legitimate economy as apparently clean wealth. Common integration mechanisms include real estate purchases,...
- Layering
- The second stage, designed to sever the audit trail between the illicit source and the funds. Layering typically involves a rapid series...
- Placement
- The first stage of money laundering, in which illicit cash is introduced into the financial system. Methods include cash deposits, currency exchange,...
- Shell Company
- A legal entity with no genuine business operations, created to receive fraudulent payments. In vendor fraud, the fraudster controls the shell and...
- Trade-Based Money Laundering (TBML)
- A typology that uses international trade transactions to transfer value across borders. Mechanisms include over-invoicing or under-invoicing goods, falsifying quantities or descriptions,...
Explained in
- Money Laundering: Placement, Layering, and IntegrationBreaking a large cash sum into multiple smaller transactions, each below the mandatory reporting threshold, to avoid triggering Currency Transaction Reports or...