Placement (AML stage)

Placement is the first stage of money laundering where illicit cash enters the financial system. Common typologies include structuring/smurfing to avoid CTR thresholds, cash-intensive businesses, commingling, mules, casinos, and prepaid instruments.Controls involve cash handling limits, KYC on high-cash merchants, geolocation/IP heuristics, and velocity/CTR monitoring. Effective programs link placement red flags to case management and SAR/STR filings. Because criminals rapidly move funds to layering, speed of detection matters; continuous monitoring and graph analytics can surface networks early. Training frontline staff (branches, agents, merchant acquirers) is critical.