What is cuckoo smurfing in money laundering?

Organised criminals use ‘cuckoo smurfing’ as a method of laundering money to disguise and integrate their funds across borders to profit from and further enable their illegal activities. Generally this method of money laundering relies on exploiting the bank accounts of customers expecting to receive legitimate funds.

What is a cuckoo smurfing?

Cuckoo smurfing is a type of money laundering. It is relatively simple for criminals to use. Cuckoo smurfing syndicates are dedicated syndicates of organised criminals who help other criminals (usually but not necessarily exclusively drug dealers) to move illicit cash.

What is a smurfing scheme?

Smurfing is a money-laundering technique involving the structuring of large amounts of cash into multiple small transactions. Smurfing is a form of structuring, in which criminals use small, cumulative transactions to remain below financial reporting requirements.

Which stage of money laundering is smurfing?

Smurfing – lodging small amounts of money below the AML reporting threshold to bank accounts or credit cards, then using these to pay expenses etc. Trusts and offshore companies – useful for hiding the identity of the real beneficial owners.

Why is it called cuckoo smurfing?

According to the Australian High Court The Cuckoo Smurfing The term Cuckoo smurfing is of European origin and is named in this way because the crime is compared to the activities of the Cuckoo. As we mentioned before, the situation in Australia is not much different.

Do all overseas transfers AUD $10000 have to be reported to Austrac?

If a customer deposits physical currency of A$10,000 or more (or the foreign currency equivalent) directly into your bank account (rather than paying you in cash), you do not have to submit a TTR. It is the responsibility of the financial institution that accepts the cash to report it to AUSTRAC.

What are the 4 stages of money laundering?

Common stages in laundering

• Placement. The initial stage of money laundering – Placement – occurs when the launderer introduces their illegal profits into the financial system.
• Layering.
• Integration.

How much cash can you deposit without raising red flags?

The Law Behind Bank Deposits Over $10,000 The Bank Secrecy Act is officially called the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act, started in 1970. It states that banks must report any deposits (and withdrawals, for that matter) that they receive over $10,000 to the Internal Revenue Service.

How much money is considered money laundering?

Under US Code Section 1957, engaging in financial transactions in property derived from unlawful activity through a US bank or other financial institution or foreign bank in the amount greater than $10,000 is considered a crime under money laundering.

What is AML and its stages?

Money laundering has one purpose: to turn the proceeds of crime into cash or property that looks legitimate and can be used without suspicion. There are usually two or three phases to the laundering: Placement. Layering. Integration / Extraction.

What does Smurf mean in Valorant?

What Is Smurfing? Smurfing is when a high-level player in any given game creates a new account to play with in lower-level games, often steamrolling players.

How does the cuckoo smurfing technique work in money?

In the Cuckoo Smurfing, criminals are saving money in bank accounts that seem innocent and ordinary. When finding these accounts, it is usually done with the help of internal members of banks that help criminals. In the first stage, the criminal inserts the money into a financial system.

Who are the Malaysian couple involved in cuckoo smurfing?

AN INNOCENT couple who have not committed any crimes have still had their fortune frozen by Australian authorities. For years, Malaysian couple Ganesh Kalimuthu and his wife Macquelene Patricia have been under scrutiny after being caught up in a bizarre money laundering scheme known as “cuckoo smurfing”.

How are hawala and Cuckoo smurfing similar?

Because no money is transferred between borders, cuckoo smurfing shares some similarities with the alternative remittance system, ‘hawala’. Hawala is a method of transferring money without the funds moving in the traditional sense.

When did court order restraining order on cuckoo smurfing?

On 24 October 2015, the Court made a restraining order pursuant to section 19 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Cth) restraining Mr and Mrs Ganesh’s three Australian bank accounts with a combined value in excess of 3 million AUD upon application by the AFP.