Placement is the first stage of money laundering, in which criminal proceeds are introduced into the financial system. The purpose of the placement process in money laundering is to introduce ill-gotten assets into a financial system without arousing suspicion that they were obtained illegally. The placement of illegal funds into the financial system may happen directly or indirectly, and it typically involves dividing large amounts of cash into less suspicious smaller sums, which can then be deposited into a single bank account or several bank accounts. Other placement methods include adding illicit cash from a crime to the legitimate takings of a business, particularly those with little or no variable costs, or using illicit funds to purchase monetary instruments such as checks or money orders that are collected and deposited into accounts at other locations.

The placement stage of money laundering is only relevant if the criminals have to introduce money to the legitimate financial system. If the black money is going to be utilized for other criminal activities, then the placement of funds will not occur. The businesses that are prone to the placement of illegal proceeds include banks and financial institutions, insurance companies, money exchanges, capital markets, accountants, auditors, trust and company service providers, and lawyers.

To detect and prevent money laundering placement, financial institutions can look for clues such as large cash deposits, unusual transactions, and transactions that are inconsistent with a customers known business or financial profile. Overall, the surest way of detecting and preventing money laundering placement is to have a robust anti-money laundering (AML) program in place.