Tag: pakistan

$21,000 in cash seized by CBP at Washington-Dulles seized for currency reporting violations

Traveler Fails to Report $21,000 Seized by CBP

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on

Yesterday, CBP publicized a cash seizure from a female traveler who failed to report $21,000 in cash she was transporting before boarding her plane at Dulles airport.

The woman, bound for Pakistan via Turkey, verbally reported carrying $6,000. Thereafter, a customs officer searched her bags and discovered a total of $21,255.

This is a classic violation of 31 USC 5316, where a person fails to report cash being transported by them to CBP. A report of currency must be made on form FinCEN 105 and presented to CBP before departure. It is not enough to verbally report the money when asked.

CBP will also surely allege that this is also an instance of bulk cash smuggling, because she was provided with an opportunity to disclosure the full amount of money she carried, but only reported $6,000. They later had to find the full $21,255 in her bag.

Here’s the full story, from CBP:

STERLING, Va. – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized $21,255 in unreported currency from a U.S. woman destined to Pakistan Friday at Washington Dulles International Airport.

While CBP officers conducted an outbound inspection of passengers on a Turkey-bound flight, officers encountered the woman and asked how much currency she possessed. She reported $6,000 and confirmed that she understood federal currency reporting requirements. Officers discovered several envelopes in her carry-on baggage with a total of $21,255 in U.S. currency. Officers released $255 to the woman for humanitarian purposes and seized $21,000 for violating federal currency reporting requirements.

It is legal to carry large sums of currency into or out of the United States. However, federal law requires that travelers who possess $10,000 or more in currency or other monetary instruments must report it all to a CBP officer at the airport, seaport, or land border crossing when entering or leaving the country. Read more about currency reporting requirements.

Consequences for violating U.S. currency reporting laws are severe; penalties may include seizure of most or all of the traveler’s currency, and potential criminal charges.

Have you had money seized by CBP?

If CBP has seized your cash, you need a lawyer. Read our trusted customs money seizure legal guide and can contact us for a free currency seizure consultation by clicking the contact buttons on this page.

A stacked pile of cash seized by Customs at Dulles airport

Customs at Dulles Seized $124k Cash in 3 Incidents

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on

Dulles continues to lead the nation in news releases about money seized by Customs officers at their airport for violations of the cash reporting requirement, structuring laws, or bulk cash smuggling laws. In this story, CBP seized nearly $125,000 from three different groups of travelers. The majority of the money — $83,093 — was seized from a man heading to Ghana.

A backup full of $100 bills seized by Customs officers for failing to report cash at Dulles airport.
CBP officers seized $124,694 during three currency reporting violations at Washington Dulles International Airport March 7-8, 2018.

The remaining two seizures were from a couple arriving from Columbia, and a man heading to Pakistan, both of which were approximately $20,000. Here is the story from CBP:

STERLING, Va., — U.S. federal law is clear in regards to international travelers reporting to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers all currency and other monetary instruments they possess during a CBP arrival or departure inspection.

Travelers may carry as much currency as they wish into and out of the United States.  None of the currency or monetary instruments is taxed.  For travelers who possess $10,000 or more in currency or monetary instruments, they just take a few minutes to complete a U.S. Treasury Department financial form and continue on their journey.

Yet, travelers continue to violate this federal reporting requirement, include three groups of travelers who recently ceded a combined $124,694 in unreported currency to CBP officers at Washington Dulles International Airport.

Consequences for violating U.S. currency laws are severe: from loss of all unreported currency to potential criminal charges, as illustrated by the following three cases:

  • CBP officers seized $83,093 from a Ghanaian man destined to Ghana February 8;
  • CBP officers seized $23,082 from a Brazilian couple who arrived from Colombia February 8; and
  • CBP officers seized $18,519 from a U.S. citizen of Pakistan birth destined to Pakistan February 7.

Travelers escaped criminal charges in all three cases.

“Customs and Border Protection urges travelers to be completely honest during CBP inspections, and in particular, comply with a federal currency reporting regulation that is quite clear and simple,” said Daniel Mattina, CBP Area Port Director for the Area Port of Washington Dulles.  “The best way for travelers to hold onto their currency is to fully comply with our nation’s currency reporting laws.”

In each case, CBP officers afforded the travelers multiple opportunities to truthfully report all currency, and discovered additional currency during baggage examinations.

CBP officers returned currency in the amount of $93, $234 and $519, respectively, to the travelers for humanitarian purposes, and released the travelers.

Has Dulles CBP seized your cash?

If Dulles CBP seized your cash, beware that you stand to lose a lot of it because of their aggressive penalization of bulk cash smuggling and structuring offenses. You should contact our customs lawyer for a free cash seizure consultation by clicking the contact buttons on this page.

An image of cash lined within the pages of magazines seized by Chicago CBP at O'Hare airport

$150k Seized at O’Hare Airport by Chicago CBP

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on

Since we opened up our Chicago office to help people who have had cash seized at O’Hare Airport by U.S. Customs & Border Protection, we’ve had little in the way of CBP news releases about currency seizures there. But, I remembered seeing a story about some cash seized for bulk cash smuggling and failure to report at O’Hare back in 2011.

I remembered it because it involved more than $125,000 that was hidden in various parts of a family’s luggage and personal effects they were traveling with; like money hidden within the pages of books, magazines, and photo albums… here’s the full story:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers conducting outbound enforcement operations at Chicago O’Hare International Airport seized $125,849 in bulk U.S. currency on March 1.

Among other passenger, CBP officers selected a family, traveling to Pakistan onboard Etihad Airlines, for an outbound currency verification examination. Prior to departure, CBP officers explained the currency reporting requirements and the husband declared the family was departing with only $17,000. Subsequently, a full baggage examination was conducted after a routine inspection revealed over $35,000 in his carry-on bag.

During the CBP examination, currency was discovered concealed in several locations including $5,200 in the pages of a magazine, $19,300 hidden behind pictures in a photo album and $4,500 in a pair of children’s pants. Currency was located in all carry-on baggage belonging to the family with an additional $7,800 found in their checked bags. The total amount of undeclared currency seized was $125,849.

“Everywhere the officers looked they kept discovering more concealed currency,” said Janice Adams, CBP acting director of field operations in Chicago. “Money was hidden in every conceivable location. This is an outstanding seizure by our CBP officers working outbound operations at Chicago O’Hare.”

This, my friends, is more than a failure to report; it is bulk cash smuggling. In other words, it was the intentional concealment of the cash for the purpose of not having to report the cash to CBP in Chicago. Bulk cash smuggling has much higher rate of forfeiture than a “simple” failure to report. Anyone who has had money seized for bulk cash smuggling should give us a call for a free currency seizure consultation and make use of our free customs cash seizure legal guide.

If you have had cash seized at Chicago O’Hare Airport or Midway airport, give our customs attorney a call at (773) 920-1840, or click the contact buttons on this page to send us an e-mail or request a call back.