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Currency Seizures by CBP on International Flights

If you take an intentional flight into or out of the United States with $10,000 or more in U.S. Currency or any other form of “monetary instruments,” federal law requires you to file the FinCEN Form 105. The form is called the “Report of International Transportation of Currency or Monetary Instruments” (CMIR) required by 31 U.S.C. 5316 and Treasury Department regulations (31 CFR Chapter X).

If you fail to disclose the amount of money in your possession (or the combined amount carried by your travel companions), agents with Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) might seize the money for civil asset forfeiture. Agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) might assist CBP in seizing the money.

After the U.S. Currency is confiscated, CBP will provide you with a receipt. Within 60 days, CBP will send a personal “notice of seizure” to the person listed on the receipt at the address provided. The notice of seizure gives you the following options:

  • do nothing so that the government can keep the U.S. Currency without a fight;
  • file a petition for remission or mitigation so that CBP can decide what happens to the money during administrative forfeiture proceedings; or
  • file a verified claim for court action triggering CBP’s 90-day deadline to either return the property or file a complaint for forfeiture in the U.S. District Court.

The attorneys at Sammis Law Firm can help you file the verified claim for court action immediately, even before you receive the “notice of seizure.”

Attorneys for Cash Seizures at International Airports

If officials with CBP or HSI seized your U.S. Currency at an airport before or after an international flight, contact an attorney at Sammis Law Firm.

We can explain the FinCEN 105 requirements, obtain surveillance video from the airport, file your demand for court action, or answer the government’s complaint for forfeiture.

Before you file a petition for remission, mitigation, or an offer in compromise, let us explain why filing a claim for court action might be better.

Don’t compound one mistake with another. If CBP or HSI seized your money at the airport, alleging that you didn’t disclose the proper amount on the FinCEN105 form, we can help you understand the best options for getting your property back.

Call 813-250-0500.

Structuring $10,000 in Cash to Evade Reporting Requirements

If you are traveling with other people, Customs and Border Protection agents might accuse you of “structuring” the money between the different travelers to avoid the reporting requirements without being detected.

To avoid an accusation of “structuring” under Title 31, United States Code, Section 5324, you and your traveling companions must count all money in your collective possession and declare it on the FinCEN105 form. Then you must deliver the form to CBP before attempting to board the flight or immediately upon exiting the flight.

CBP agents realize that most innocent people don’t understand this requirement and take advantage of that fact when conducting their investigation or interrogation of the travelers.

How FinCEN Form 105 Defines “Monetary Instrument”

In addition to U.S. Currency, the FinCEN Form 105 is required anytime the traveler has $10,000 worth of “monetary instruments” defined to include:

  1. securities or stock in bearer form or otherwise in such form that title thereto passes upon delivery;
  2. incomplete instruments (including checks, promissory notes, and money orders) that are signed but on which the name of the payee has been omitted;
  3. negotiable instruments (including checks, promissory notes, and money orders) in bearer form, endorsed without restriction, made out to a fictitious payee, or otherwise in such form that title thereto passes upon delivery;
  4. traveler’s checks in any form; and
  5. coin or currency of the United States or any other country.

Although there is no duty on gold coins or bullion, if valued at more than $10,000 they should still be declared to a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officer on the FinCEN 105 form.

The consequence of bringing more than $10,000 on an international flight include civil penalties, including a fine of not more than $500,000 and imprisonment of not more than ten (10) years, for any of the following:

  • the failure to file a report;
  • filing a report containing a material omission or misstatement; or
  • filing a false or fraudulent report.

This article was last updated on Monday, June 17, 2024.