Typical placement methods are cash deposits (often split into small amounts), buying high-value goods, currency exchange, and mixing illegal cash with the takings of a cash-intensive business. Placement is the stage where the launderer is most exposed, because large or unusual cash is easiest to spot.
Example
A criminal pays GBP 400 a day in cash into 20 accounts opened by associates instead of one deposit of GBP 8,000.
Where it appears in the exams
This topic is relevant for CAMS, CFCS.
Related terms
- Layering: Layering is the second stage of money laundering: moving funds through many transactions, accounts, companies or countries to hide where they came from.
- Integration: Integration is the final stage of money laundering, in which laundered funds re-enter the legitimate economy and look like ordinary income or assets.
- Structuring (smurfing): Structuring means breaking a transaction into smaller amounts to stay below a reporting or monitoring threshold. It is also called smurfing.
Source: Widely used three-stage model of money laundering (placement, layering, integration). Independent explanation for study purposes, not legal advice.