Smurfing
Smurfing (English for " smurfing ") is a form of money laundering in which the deposit of a large amount of money into an account is to be concealed. To do this, the amount of money is divided into a large number of smaller amounts of money, which are then transferred in several tranches . An unusually high amount of money for the account should no longer be noticed in the multitude of other transactions on the account.
This procedure is used in particular when amounts over 15,000 euros are to be paid in. For cash payments of 15,000 euros or more, it is mandatory in Germany to identify the person making the payment and to store the data for a period of five years. To avoid this obligation, the amount is paid in several tranches, each of which does not exceed this limit.
Systems used by banks for the automatic detection of money laundering now have algorithms to detect smurfing.
The name is derived from the English name of the Smurfs (cartoon characters, English: Smurfs ). The Smurfs form a large group made up of many small individuals, just as many small amounts of money make up a large sum.
Similar techniques
- Air booking - fake bookings , mostly cyclical to simulate a higher turnover.
swell
- http://wirtschaftslexikon.gabler.de/Definition/smurfing.html
- https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/gwg_2017/