Thread: C.B.P. confiscated $37.7 MILLION cash in 2014

CBP sets $30 million target for cash confiscations in 2015 by Dave Hendricks Posted: 02.03.2015 at 8:53 AM

U.S. Customs and Border Protection kept an eye on travelers leaving the United States last year — and seized $37.7 million in cash from people leaving the country.

The federal border agency set a $30 million target for 2015, according to an audit released Tuesday by the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General. They shouldn't have any trouble meeting the target.

Officers seized $37.7 million from people who left the United States during the 2014 federal fiscal year, which ended Oct. 1, according to the audit.

Customs and Border Protection first set annual targets for currency seizures in fiscal year 2011.

Since then, they've seized:
> About $47 million in fiscal year 2011
> About $31.9 million in fiscal year 2012
> About $36.9 million in fiscal year 2013
> About $37.7 million in fiscal year 2014.

For the current fiscal year, Customs and Border Protection set a $30 million target. It's the same target the agency set in 2014.

Law enforcement officers don't have to charge the person carrying the cash with a crime to take the money.

That practice, called civil forfeiture, remains controversial.

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