CBP seized almost $30,000 in cash from a traveler at Baltimore Washington Thurgood Marshall Airport last week when he was leaving the United States to the United Kingdom. Many people are not aware the the currency reporting requirement for more than $10,000 applies to when you enter or LEAVE the country. He verbally reported $8,000, wrote down $5,000, then said the money belonged to others but nothing more than $8,000 in total was being transported.
What? If true, no wonder the officers became suspicious. When a story changes 3 times in less than a minute, there is good cause to believe someone is lying. If not true, well… that wouldn’t be the first I saw CBP relate their own version of events that differed vastly from what clients have described to me.
The salient portion of the story is quoted below (full story is here):
CBP officers found a total of $27,773 on his person and in his luggage.
The man, who was boarding a flight to the United Kingdom, was selected for questioning by CBP officers who were conducting an outbound international flight enforcement operation. The man initially reported possessing $8,000 but completed a financial reporting form stating $5,000. After signing the form he stated he was also carrying currency for others, but that all the currency totaled less than $8,000. CBP officers found a total of $27,773 on his person and in his luggage. CBP officers seized the $27,773 and advised him how to petition for the return of the currency.
If you have had currency seized from Customs do not try to respond yourself but hire our firm, because we know what we are doing and have successfully handled many cases like yours. If you have questions, please give us a call at (734) 855-4999. We are able to assist with cash seized by customs around the country, including Chicago, Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, Orlando and many other places, and not just locally in Detroit. Please read these other articles:
Detroit CBP seizes a lot of currency from arriving travelers for failure to report, structuring, or bulk cash smuggling offenses. How much is “a lot”? CBP in Detroit has seized nearly $8 million dollars in currency since October 1, 2014. This seems like more than previous years (reported here). While the following news release, cleverly titled “Don’t lose your dough, know before you go”  only explicitly deals with failure to report customs currency seizure violations, it very likely includes structuring and bulk cash smuggling offenses as part of this grand total:
DETROIT— So far during fiscal year (FY) 2015, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Office of Field Operations (OFO) has seized over $7,900,000 in unreported currency at ports of entry within the Detroit Field Office.
The transport of any currency and/or monetary instruments (i.e. cashier’s checks) over $10,000 must be reported to a CBP Officer upon arrival into or exiting the United States. Penalties can range from civil fines up to and including seizure of the currency and arrest.
“There is no limit as to how much currency travelers can import or export; however to avoid subjecting the money to seizure, it’s always best to report it and file the proper paperwork” said Christopher Perry, Director of Field Operations for the Detroit Field Office.
Currency and reporting laws were enacted to thwart bulk cash smuggling of drug trafficking organizations, terrorist finance networks and other criminal activities.
If you have had cash seized by customs and are contemplating what to do next, please make use of the other information available on this website or call our office at (734) 855-4999 to speak to a customs lawyer, or e-mail us through our contact page. We are able to assist with cash seized by customs around the country, including Chicago, Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, Orlando and many other places, and not just locally in Detroit. Please read these other articles:
unreported currency at ports of entry within the Detroit Field Office.