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| The stream of cheery students arriving in the ] with packs of money may have reminded law enforcers of ] because "The Smurfing Song", the 1978 novelty hit by Father Abraham and the Smurfs, began with the words, "Where are you all coming from?" | The stream of cheery students arriving in the ] with packs of money may have reminded law enforcers of ] because "The Smurfing Song", the 1978 novelty hit by Father Abraham and the Smurfs, began with the words, "Where are you all coming from?" | ||
| == |
== Regulatory Table == | ||
| <br> | <br> | ||
| Transaction Limits by Nation, "below what level will I not have to fill out any paperwork"? | Transaction Limits by Nation, "below what level will I not have to fill out any paperwork"? | ||
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| | style="vertical-align: top;" | <br> | | style="vertical-align: top;" | <br> | ||
| |- | |- | ||
| | style="vertical-align: top;" | ]<br> | | style="vertical-align: top;" | ]<br> | ||
| | style="vertical-align: top;" | 10,000 ]<br> | | style="vertical-align: top;" | 10,000 ]<br> | ||
| | style="vertical-align: top;" | None, but splitting to evade the rules is a criminal offence.<br> | | style="vertical-align: top;" | None, but splitting to evade the rules is a criminal offence.<br> | ||
| Line 50: | Line 50: | ||
| | style="vertical-align: top;" | <br> | | style="vertical-align: top;" | <br> | ||
| |- | |- | ||
| | style="vertical-align: top;" | ]<br> | | style="vertical-align: top;" | ]<br> | ||
| | style="vertical-align: top;" | 10000 ]<br> | | style="vertical-align: top;" | 10000 ]<br> | ||
| | style="vertical-align: top;" | <br> | | style="vertical-align: top;" | <br> | ||
| Line 62: | Line 62: | ||
| | style="vertical-align: top;" | None?<br> | | style="vertical-align: top;" | None?<br> | ||
| |- | |- | ||
| | style="vertical-align: top;" | ]<br> | | style="vertical-align: top;" | ]<br> | ||
| | style="vertical-align: top;" | 1100 ]<br> | | style="vertical-align: top;" | 1100 ]<br> | ||
| | style="vertical-align: top;" | 7700 ]<br> | | style="vertical-align: top;" | 7700 ]<br> | ||
Revision as of 23:33, 16 June 2006
Smurfing and structuring are banking terms used to describe the splitting of a large financial transaction into multiple smaller transactions. This is done to evade scrutiny by regulators or law enforcement. Typically each of these smaller transactions is below some limit, above which financial institutions must file a report with a government agency. Criminal enterprises often send different couriers to make these transactions, and those couriers are known as smurfs in this context.
United States practice
In the United States, the Bank Secrecy Act requires the filing of a currency transaction report for transactions of $10,000.01 or more. Financial institutions that suspect structuring are required to file a suspicious activity report.
The term "smurfing" is in widespread use in the context of money laundering, and has been known to appear in official Federal criminal indictments. However the more formal (and euphemistic) term is "structuring a deposit".
Television origins of smurfing
The stream of cheery students arriving in the Cayman Islands with packs of money may have reminded law enforcers of The Smurfs because "The Smurfing Song", the 1978 novelty hit by Father Abraham and the Smurfs, began with the words, "Where are you all coming from?"
Regulatory Table
Transaction Limits by Nation, "below what level will I not have to fill out any paperwork"?
| Country (alphbetical) | Individual
Transaction Limit (persons) |
(Weekly or Monthly)
Transaction Limit (persons) |
Corporate
Transaction Limits |
data source
(link) |
| Argentina |
||||
| Australia |
10,000 AUD |
None, but splitting to evade the rules is a criminal offence. |
Same |
|
| Bahamas |
||||
| Brazil |
||||
| Canada |
10000 CAD |
|||
| Cayman Islands |
None? |
None? |
None? |
None? |
| Fiji |
1100 FJD |
7700 FJD |
Unlimited (investor tourism operators) |
|
| France |
3000 EUR |
|||
| Guyana |
10000 U.S. |
|||
| India |
||||
| Ireland |
||||
| Japan |
||||
| South Korea |
||||
| Lithuania |
10000 Lt |
|||
| Malta |
None? |
None? |
None? |
None? |
| Mexico |
||||
| Netherlands |
15000 EUR |
|||
| New Zealand |
3000 NZD |
|||
| South Africa |
||||
| Switzerland |
None? |
None? |
None? |
None? |
| UK |
||||
| USA |
10000 USD |
References
- Information for the general public and Cash Dealer Information pages at the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre