BALTIMORE — U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized more than $11,000 in unreported currency from a Nigerian man who departed the United States late Friday night aboard a private aircraft.
While examining a passenger manifest from the departing flight, CBP officers identified a man with previous federal currency reporting violations. The man also failed to report any currency on this trip nor did he complete a financial reporting form as required by law. CBP officers conducted a compliance examination and discovered $11,647 in U.S. dollars, British pounds and Euros. CBP officers seized all the currency.
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.
“Chartering a private flight does not alleviate travelers from the responsibility of complying with applicable U.S. laws and regulations, including federal currency reporting requirements,” said Dianna Bowman, CBP Area Port Director for the Area Port of Baltimore. “This seizure should remind all travelers that Customs and Border Protection border security authority covers all departing and arriving international travelers, whether on commercial or private aircraft. It is one way in which CBP contributes to our nation’s security.”
Privacy laws prohibit CBP from releasing the traveler’s name since he was not criminally charged. The traveler was departing for London, England. CBP officers released him to continue his travel after officers completed the currency seizure.
“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.”
Travelers are encouraged to visit CBP’s Travel section to learn more about the CBP admissions process and rules governing travel to and from the U.S.
CBP’s Office of Field Operations
Almost a million times each day, CBP officers welcome international travelers into the U.S. In screening both foreign visitors and returning U.S. citizens, CBP uses a variety of techniques to intercept narcotics, unreported currency, weapons, prohibited agriculture, and other illicit products, and to assure that global tourism remains safe and strong.
On a typical day, CBP seizes $289,609 in undeclared or illicit currency along our nation’s borders. Learn more about what CBP did during "A Typical Day" in 2016.
CBP's border security mission is led at ports of entry by CBP officers from the Office of Field Operations. Please visit CBP Ports of Entry to learn more about how CBP’s Office of Field Operations secures our nation’s borders.