Small Deposits
Breaking large sums into amounts under $10,000.
ML Techniques
What is Smurfing? Spot the Red Flags
Smurfing explained: how criminals break large amounts into smaller deposits to avoid reporting thresholds.
Smurfing explained
Smurfing (also called structuring) is a money laundering technique where criminals break large sums of cash into smaller deposits to avoid the $10,000 threshold that triggers reporting to AUSTRAC.
How smurfing works
Multiple Accounts
Using different banks or accounts.
Multiple People
Using 'smurfs' to make deposits.
Frequently asked questions
What is smurfing?
Smurfing is breaking large cash amounts into smaller deposits to avoid the $10,000 threshold transaction reporting requirement.
Is smurfing illegal?
Yes. Structuring transactions to avoid reporting thresholds is a criminal offence under AML/CTF laws.
Related resources
Detect suspicious patterns
Good CDD and monitoring helps identify structuring attempts.