EDIT: I misinterpreted what you said. Yes, I do think it's freaky now that you put it that way. However it's not the act of making transactions over $10,000 that's illegal, it just brings increased scrutiny on you. IANAL though, and I don't know how they can determine that your transactions shouldn't be "just under the limit" that they decided arbitrarily was the amount that they should watch for.
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That's not what I thought was freaky. It's that it's actually called 'smurfing.'
You can't disagree that money laundering is a nebulous term! My understanding is that if you're not doing anything illegal in the first place, then it's not illegal, or money laundering, to attempt to remain anonymous and make your transactions anonymous, however, if you are attempting to make your money less traceable because you want to cover up your illegal activities (say tax evasion), then it's an extra charge for the district attorney to get you with.
Have you ever heard of being charged with conspiracy after the fact, when you've already been exonerated of the charge that you supposedly conspired to commit? It happens.
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That's not what I thought was freaky. It's that it's actually called 'smurfing.'
You can't disagree that money laundering is a nebulous term! My understanding is that if you're not doing anything illegal in the first place, then it's not illegal, or money laundering, to attempt to remain anonymous and make your transactions anonymous, however, if you are attempting to make your money less traceable because you want to cover up your illegal activities (say tax evasion), then it's an extra charge for the district attorney to get you with.
Have you ever heard of being charged with conspiracy after the fact, when you've already been exonerated of the charge that you supposedly conspired to commit? It happens.