PHILADELPHIA, PA — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized $21,516 in unreported currency Sunday from a Global Entry traveler departing Philadelphia International Airport for the Dominican Republic, revoking his trusted-traveler privileges after officers found more than twice the amount he had declared.
The U.S. citizen, a Columbus, Ohio, resident, initially told officers he was carrying between $7,000 and $8,000 before a Santiago-bound flight, according to CBP. After reviewing information about federal currency-reporting requirements, he wrote that he possessed $10,000.
Officers later found $22,016 concealed throughout his carry-on bag during an inspection, the agency stated. CBP seized $21,516, returned $500 to the traveler for humanitarian purposes and released him without charges.
The agency also submitted the traveler’s Global Entry membership for revocation.
“This traveler egregiously violated the terms of his trusted traveler contract by deliberately underreporting the amount of currency he possessed,” Elliott Ortiz, CBP’s acting area port director in Philadelphia, said.
Federal law permits travelers to carry any amount of currency or other monetary instruments into or out of the United States. Amounts exceeding $10,000, however, must be reported to the Treasury Department using a Report of International Transportation of Currency or Monetary Instruments, known as FinCEN Form 105.
The reporting requirement applies to the total amount carried by a person or traveling party and does not constitute a tax or limit on transporting money.
CBP stated that travelers can submit the form online before reaching an airport departure gate at https://fincen105.cbp.dhs.gov or request assistance from officers during a departure inspection.
The Philadelphia seizure follows a separate case in May in which CBP officers confiscated $44,000 in unreported currency after a detection dog alerted to money concealed in a traveler’s carry-on baggage and on his person.
Travelers who fail to report currency may have the money seized, miss their flights or face potential criminal prosecution for bulk cash smuggling, according to the agency.
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