What is Smurfing in financial crime techniques?

• A. Use of multiple individuals to conduct transactions
• B. Rapid movement of funds
• C. Transactions to / from High Risk Jurisdictions
• D. Cash activity unknown to the financial institution

Answer: (A)

Smurfing is a method used to evade financial monitoring by breaking a large illicit sum into many smaller deposits or transactions carried out by multiple individuals so that each one remains below reporting thresholds. The goal is to avoid triggering automatic alerts or reporting requirements while moving funds through the system. This fits the option describing the use of multiple individuals to carry out the transactions. The other choices describe different patterns—rapid movement of funds, transactions to or from high-risk jurisdictions, or cash activity unknown to the financial institution—that are not the defining feature of smurfing.