$68,000 seized by US customs from a family en route to Nigeria

At Washington Dulles International Airport on Thursday, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents apprehended $68,000 in undeclared cash from a family travelling to Nigeria.

The Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which declined to reveal the family’s identities, stated that visitors are mandated by law to report any currency they possess to any of their officers when entering or departing the country.

“The amount of cash or other financial instruments that visitors may carry into or take out of the United States is unlimited.

“However, travellers must report any currency valued at $10,000 or more to a CBP officer and complete the U.S. Treasury Department Report of International Transportation of Currency or Monetary Instruments [FINCEN 105] in accordance with federal law [31 USC 5316],” CBP stated in a statement posted on its website.

The family was discovered by CBP agents who were performing outgoing inspections of travellers leaving on an aircraft headed for Cairo, Egypt.

“Officers asked the family how much currency they had in their possession and explained the laws pertaining to reporting of foreign currency.” The father signed the FINCEN 105 form formally reporting the $10,000 that the family owned.

In addition to the cash the family gave the police, CBP agents found additional currency in several envelopes when they inspected the family’s carryon baggage later. The entire amount of money was $68,216.

Officers confiscated the cash and released $216 to the family in an act of kindness. The travellers were freed by CBP agents to carry on with their journey.

According to Marc E. Calixte, Area Port Director for CBP’s Area Port of Washington, D.C., “seizing a traveler’s currency is a very serious consequence, but one that can easily be avoided just by the traveller truthfully reporting to a Customs and Border Protection officer all of the currency they are taking with them.”

Travellers who lie about having all of their currency reported run the danger of serious repercussions, including as missing their flight and having their vacation plans interrupted, having all of their currency seized by a CBP officer, and possibly even being charged with a crime for smuggling large amounts of currency.

Unreported large sums of money can occasionally be the result of illicit activities like money laundering and financial fraud. In an effort to hide money from relatives or business associates, some travellers may be driven by greed to carry unreported cash that they may have legally obtained, according to the CBP.