Transaction red flags

Patterns worth noticing

• Large cash transactions with no clear, proportionate business reason.
• Structuring, sometimes called "smurfing": deliberately breaking a large amount into several smaller transactions, often to stay under reporting or verification thresholds.
• Funds moving rapidly through an account with little economic sense, in and straight back out, with no apparent business purpose.
• Payments or transfers that don't match the customer's known business activity or stated purpose for the relationship.

No single unusual transaction automatically means laundering is happening. It's the combination of an unusual pattern with no plausible legitimate explanation that should prompt a closer look.