ACAMS Exam Questions with Verified Correct
Answers
Structuring
Designing a transaction to evade triggering a reporting or record-keeping requirement.
Smurfing
Multiple individuals making multiple cash deposits and/or buying multiple monetary
instruments or bank drafts in amounts under the reporting threshold in an attempt to evade
detection
Microstructuring
Structuring done at a much smaller level
Wash-trading or "offsetting" accounts
The entry of matching buys and sells in particular securities; which provides the illusion of
trading. It generates offsetting profits and losses through multiple accounts.
Free Trade Zone (FTZ)
Designated geographic areas with special regulatory and tax treatments
for certain trade-related goods and services.
Trade-Based Money Laundering
The process of disguising the proceeds of crime and moving value through
the use of trade transactions in an attempt to legitimize their illicit origins.
Over Invoicing
Invoicing goods or services at a price above the fair market price.
,Under Invoicing
Invoicing goods or services at a price below the fair market price.
Over-shipping or Short-shipping
The difference in the invoiced quantity of goods and the quantity of goods that are shipped
whereby the buyer or seller gains excess value based on the payment made.
Ghost-shipping
Fictitious trades where a buyer and seller collude to prepare all the documentation indicating
goods were sold, shipped and payments were made, but no goods were actually shipped.
Shell companies
Corporate entities created with a view to to reduce the transparency of ownership in a
transaction.
Multiple Invoicing
A form of trade-based money laundering whcih involved the use of numerous invoices issued
for the same shipment of goods, thus allowing the money launderer the opportunity to make
numerous payments and justify them with the invoices.
Black Market Trades
Commonly referred to as the Black Market Peso Exchange whereby a domestic transfer of
funds is used to pay for goods by a foreign importer
Letters of Credit
A credit instrument issued by a bank that guarantees payments on behalf of its customer to a
third party when certain conditions are met
,Funnel Accounts
an individual or business account in one geographic area that receives multiple cash deposits,
often in amounts below the cash reporting threshold, and from which the funds are withdrawn
in a different geographic area with little time elapsing between the deposits and withdrawals.
Black Market Peso Exchange
A process by which money in the United States derived from illegal activity is purchased by
Colombian peso brokers and deposited in US bank accounts that the brokers have established.
Electronic Purses
Cards that electronically store value on integrated circuit chips. Unlike pre-paid credit cards
with magnetic stripes that store account information, funds are stored on memory chips.
Virtual Currency (Digital Currency)
A medium of exchange that operates in the digital space. It can be converted into either a fiat
(e.g., a government-issued currency) or it can be a substitute for real currency.
International Business Company (IBC)
Entities formed outside of a person or businesses'
country of residence, typically in offshore jurisdictions, for confidentially or asset protection
purposes.
Shelf Company
A corporation that has had no activity. It has been created and put on the shelf. This
corporation is then later sold to someone who prefers a previously registered corporation over
a new one.
Shell Company
, A company that at the time of incorporation has no significant assets or operations.
Asset Protection Trusts
A special form of irrevocable trust usually created offshore for the principle purpose of
preserving one's wealth from creditors.
The Hawala System
An informal value transfer system involving the international transfer of value outside the
legitimate banking system and based on a trusted network of individuals.
Numbered Account
A bank account where the identity of the account holder is not disclosed in the title of an
account, and identification to effect transactions takes place using a code word or number
known only by the account holder and a restricted number of bank employees, thus providing
the account holder with a degree of bank privacy in their financial transactions.
Comitology
The EU system that oversees the implementation of acts proposed by the European
Commission.
Third Country Citizen
Individuals who are in transit and/or applying for visas in countries that are not their country
of origin (i.e. country of transit)
The Wolfsberg Group
An association of 13 global banks that aims to develop financial services industry standards
and guidance related to Know Your Customer, Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-
Terrorist Financing policies.
Answers
Structuring
Designing a transaction to evade triggering a reporting or record-keeping requirement.
Smurfing
Multiple individuals making multiple cash deposits and/or buying multiple monetary
instruments or bank drafts in amounts under the reporting threshold in an attempt to evade
detection
Microstructuring
Structuring done at a much smaller level
Wash-trading or "offsetting" accounts
The entry of matching buys and sells in particular securities; which provides the illusion of
trading. It generates offsetting profits and losses through multiple accounts.
Free Trade Zone (FTZ)
Designated geographic areas with special regulatory and tax treatments
for certain trade-related goods and services.
Trade-Based Money Laundering
The process of disguising the proceeds of crime and moving value through
the use of trade transactions in an attempt to legitimize their illicit origins.
Over Invoicing
Invoicing goods or services at a price above the fair market price.
,Under Invoicing
Invoicing goods or services at a price below the fair market price.
Over-shipping or Short-shipping
The difference in the invoiced quantity of goods and the quantity of goods that are shipped
whereby the buyer or seller gains excess value based on the payment made.
Ghost-shipping
Fictitious trades where a buyer and seller collude to prepare all the documentation indicating
goods were sold, shipped and payments were made, but no goods were actually shipped.
Shell companies
Corporate entities created with a view to to reduce the transparency of ownership in a
transaction.
Multiple Invoicing
A form of trade-based money laundering whcih involved the use of numerous invoices issued
for the same shipment of goods, thus allowing the money launderer the opportunity to make
numerous payments and justify them with the invoices.
Black Market Trades
Commonly referred to as the Black Market Peso Exchange whereby a domestic transfer of
funds is used to pay for goods by a foreign importer
Letters of Credit
A credit instrument issued by a bank that guarantees payments on behalf of its customer to a
third party when certain conditions are met
,Funnel Accounts
an individual or business account in one geographic area that receives multiple cash deposits,
often in amounts below the cash reporting threshold, and from which the funds are withdrawn
in a different geographic area with little time elapsing between the deposits and withdrawals.
Black Market Peso Exchange
A process by which money in the United States derived from illegal activity is purchased by
Colombian peso brokers and deposited in US bank accounts that the brokers have established.
Electronic Purses
Cards that electronically store value on integrated circuit chips. Unlike pre-paid credit cards
with magnetic stripes that store account information, funds are stored on memory chips.
Virtual Currency (Digital Currency)
A medium of exchange that operates in the digital space. It can be converted into either a fiat
(e.g., a government-issued currency) or it can be a substitute for real currency.
International Business Company (IBC)
Entities formed outside of a person or businesses'
country of residence, typically in offshore jurisdictions, for confidentially or asset protection
purposes.
Shelf Company
A corporation that has had no activity. It has been created and put on the shelf. This
corporation is then later sold to someone who prefers a previously registered corporation over
a new one.
Shell Company
, A company that at the time of incorporation has no significant assets or operations.
Asset Protection Trusts
A special form of irrevocable trust usually created offshore for the principle purpose of
preserving one's wealth from creditors.
The Hawala System
An informal value transfer system involving the international transfer of value outside the
legitimate banking system and based on a trusted network of individuals.
Numbered Account
A bank account where the identity of the account holder is not disclosed in the title of an
account, and identification to effect transactions takes place using a code word or number
known only by the account holder and a restricted number of bank employees, thus providing
the account holder with a degree of bank privacy in their financial transactions.
Comitology
The EU system that oversees the implementation of acts proposed by the European
Commission.
Third Country Citizen
Individuals who are in transit and/or applying for visas in countries that are not their country
of origin (i.e. country of transit)
The Wolfsberg Group
An association of 13 global banks that aims to develop financial services industry standards
and guidance related to Know Your Customer, Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-
Terrorist Financing policies.
