PHILADELPHIA — U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized more than $93,000 from a Qatar-bound family for violating federal currency reporting regulations Tuesday at Philadelphia International Airport.
CBP officers conducted an inspection on departing international passengers and encountered a man, his wife and their five children. Officers explained the currency reporting regulations to the family and the father reported verbally and in writing that they possessed $12,000. During the inspection, CBP officers discovered a combined $93,393 concealed on the man’s, the woman’s, and their adult child’s bodies. CBP officers seized the currency.
International travelers may carry as much currency as they wish into and out of the United States. Federal law requires that travelers must report all U.S. and foreign monetary instruments totaling $10,000 or greater on a U.S. Treasury Department financial form. None of the currency is taxed.
“This currency seizure illustrates the importance and consequences of travelers complying with all U.S. laws, including federal currency reporting regulations,” said Shawn Polley, Acting CBP Port Director for the Area Port of Philadelphia. “The best way to keep all of your currency is to honestly report it all to Customs and Border Protection officers during inspection.”
Consequences for violating federal currency reporting requirements are severe. CBP may seized the violator’s currency, and file criminal charges.
CBP officers returned $3,393 to the family and released them to continue their journey.
“As the nation’s border security agency, Customs and Border Protection is charged with enforcing hundreds of laws and regulations at our nation’s international ports of entry,” said Casey Owen Durst, CBP’s Field Operations Director in Baltimore, the agency’s operational commander in the mid-Atlantic region. “CBP plays a critical role in helping to keep our communities safe, and it’s a responsibility that we take very seriously.”
