I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 240
To amend title 31, United States Code, to prevent the smuggling of large
amounts of currency or monetary instruments into or out of the United
States, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 6, 1999
Mrs. ROUKEMA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Banking and Financial Services
A BILL
To amend title 31, United States Code, to prevent the smug-
gling of large amounts of currency or monetary instru-
ments into or out of the United States, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Bulk Cash Smuggling
Act of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following:
(1) The use of large sums of cash is one of the
most reliable warning signs of drug trafficking, ter-
rorism, money laundering, racketeering, tax evasion,
and similar crimes.
(2) The prevention, investigation, and prosecu-
tion of such crimes depends upon the ability of law
enforcement to deter and trace such movements of
cash, and the failure to report such movements ac-
cordingly undermines law enforcement’s ability to
prevent and detect serious criminal activity.
(3) The nonreporting of large cash transactions
or movements, in contravention of the provisions of
subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 31, United
States Code, and regulations prescribed under such
subchapter, is therefore itself a serious crime.
(4) The intentional transportation into or out of
the United States of large amounts of currency or
monetary instruments, in a manner designed to cir-
cumvent the mandatory reporting provisions of such
subchapter is the equivalent of, and creates the same
harm as, the smuggling of goods.
(5) The penalties in subchapter II of chapter
53 of title 31, United States Code, for nonreporting
reflect the potential harm caused by the crimes to
which intentional nonreporting is linked, and such
penalties accordingly protect the following important
governmental interests:
(A) The obligation of government to pre-
vent the manipulation of commerce and trade
by criminals.
(B) The cost to the government of inves-
tigating criminal activity and enforcing the laws
designed to hinder such activity.
(C) The government’s underlying right to
taxes sought to be evaded through the move-
ment of unreported cash.
(b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to au-
thorize forfeiture of any cash or instruments whose move-
ments are not reported under the terms of subchapter II
of chapter 53 of title 31, United States Code, and regula-
tions prescribed under such chapter, to emphasize the seri-
ousness of the act of such nonreporting, and to prescribe
guidelines for determining the amount of property subject
to such forfeiture in various situations.
SEC. 3. BULK CASH SMUGGLING.
(a) ENACTMENT OF BULK CASH SMUGGLING OF-
FENSE.—Subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 31, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the follow-
ing:
‘‘§ 5331. Bulk cash smuggling
‘‘(a) CRIMINAL OFFENSE.—Whoever, with the intent
to evade a currency reporting requirement under section
5316, knowingly conceals more than $10,000 in currency
or other monetary instruments on the person of such indi-
vidual or in any conveyance, article of luggage, merchan-
dise, or other container, and transports or transfers or at-
tempts to transport or transfer such currency or monetary
instruments from a place within the United States to a
place outside of the United States, or from a place outside
the United States to a place within the United States,
shall be guilty of a currency smuggling offense and subject
to punishment pursuant to subsection (b).
‘‘(b) PENALTY.—
‘‘(1) TERM OF IMPRISONMENT.—A person con-
victed of a currency smuggling offense under sub-
section (a), or a conspiracy to commit such offense,
shall be imprisoned for not more than 5 years.
‘‘(2) FORFEITURE.—In addition, the court, in
imposing sentence under paragraph (1), shall order
that the defendant forfeit to the United States, any
property, real or personal, involved in the offense,
and any property traceable to such property, subject
to subsection (d) of this section.
‘‘(3) PROCEDURE.—The forfeiture of property
under this section shall be governed by section 413
of the Controlled Substances Act.
‘‘(4) PERSONAL
MONEY
JUDGMENT.—If the
property subject to forfeiture under paragraph (2) is
unavailable, and the defendant has no substitute
property that may be forfeited pursuant to section
413(p) of the Controlled Substances Act, the court
shall enter a personal money judgment against the
defendant for the amount that would be subject to
forfeiture.
‘‘(c) CIVIL FORFEITURE.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any property involved in a
violation of subsection (a), or a conspiracy to com-
mit such violation, and any property traceable to
such violation or conspiracy, may be seized and, sub-
ject to subsection (d) of this section, forfeited to the
United States.
‘‘(2) PROCEDURE.—The seizure and forfeiture
shall be governed by the procedures governing civil
forfeitures in money laundering cases pursuant to
section 981(a)(1)(A) of title 18, United States Code.
‘‘(3) TREATMENT
OF
CERTAIN
PROPERTY
AS
INVOLVED IN THE OFFENSE.—For purposes of this
subsection and subsection (b), any currency or other
‘‘(B) Efforts by the person committing the
offense to structure currency transactions, con-
ceal property, or otherwise obstruct justice.
‘‘(C) Whether the offense is part of a pat-
tern of repeated violations of this section or any
other currency reporting money laundering of-
fense.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec-
tions for subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 31, United
States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relat-
ing to section 5330, the following new item:
‘‘5331. Bulk cash smuggling.’’.
SEC. 4. FORFEITURE IN CURRENCY REPORTING CASES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (c) of section 5317 of
title 31, United States Code, is amended to read as fol-
lows:
‘‘(c) FORFEITURE.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The court in imposing sen-
tence for any violation of section 5313, 5313A,
5316, or 5324, or any conspiracy to commit such
violation, shall order the defendant to forfeit all
property, real or personal, involved in the offense
and any property traceable thereto.
‘‘(2) PROCEDURE.—Forfeitures under this sub-
section shall be governed by the procedures estab-
lished in section 413 of the Controlled Substances
Act and the guidelines established in paragraph (4).
‘‘(3) CIVIL
FORFEITURE.—Any property in-
volved in a violation of section 5313, 5313A, 5316,
or 5324, or any conspiracy to commit any such vio-
lation, and any property traceable to any such viola-
tion or conspiracy, may be seized and, subject to
paragraph (4), forfeited to the United States in ac-
cordance with the procedures governing civil forfeit-
ures in money laundering cases pursuant to section
981(a)(1)(A) of title 18, United States Code.
‘‘(4) PROPORTIONALITY OF FORFEITURE.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Upon a showing by
the property owner by a preponderance of the
evidence that any currency or monetary instru-
ments involved in the offense giving rise to the
forfeiture were derived from a legitimate source,
and were intended for a lawful purpose, the
court shall reduce the forfeiture to the maxi-
mum amount that is not grossly disproportional
to the gravity of the offense.
‘‘(B) FACTORS
TO
BE
CONSIDERED.—In
determining the amount of the forfeiture, the
court shall consider all aggravating and mitigat-
ing facts and circumstances that have a bearing
on the gravity of the offense, including the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(i) The value of the currency or
other monetary instruments involved in the
offense.
‘‘(ii) Efforts by the person committing
the offense to structure currency trans-
actions, conceal property, or otherwise ob-
struct justice.
‘‘(iii) Whether the offense is part of a
pattern of repeated violations.’’.
(b) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENTS.—(1) 
Section
981(a)(1)(A) of title 18, United States Code, is amended
by striking ‘‘of section 5313(a) or 5324(a) of title 31, or’’.
(2) Section 982(a)(1) of title 18, United States Code,
is amended by striking ‘‘of 5313(a), 5316, or 5324 of title
31, or’’.
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