I
105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4691
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
OCTOBER 2, 1998
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 1998’’.
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
monetary instrument that is concealed or intended
to be concealed in violation of subsection (a) or a
conspiracy to commit such violation, any article, con-
tainer, or conveyance used, or intended to be used,
to conceal or transport the currency or other mone-
tary instrument, and any other property used, or in-
tended to be used, to facilitate the offense, shall be
considered property involved in the offense.
‘‘(d) PROPORTIONALITY OF FORFEITURE.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Upon a showing by the
property owner by a preponderance of the evidence
that the currency or monetary instruments involved
in the offense giving rise to the forfeiture were de-
rived from a legitimate source, and were intended
for a lawful purpose, the court shall reduce the for-
feiture to the maximum amount that is not grossly
disproportional to the gravity of the offense.
‘‘(2) FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED.—In deter-
mining the amount of the forfeiture, the court shall
consider all aggravating and mitigating facts and
circumstances that have a bearing on the gravity of
the offense, including the following:
‘‘(A) The value of the currency or other
monetary instruments involved in the offense.