[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2920 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2920

  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

                           September 20, 2001

  Mrs. Roukema (for herself and Mr. LaFalce) introduced the following 
    bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  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.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 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 2001''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Effective enforcement of the currency reporting 
        requirements of subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 31, United 
        States Code, and the regulations prescribed under such 
        subchapter, has forced drug dealers and other criminals engaged 
        in cash-based businesses to avoid using traditional financial 
        institutions.
            (2) In their effort to avoid using traditional financial 
        institutions, drug dealers and other criminals are forced to 
        move large quantities of currency in bulk form to and through 
        the airports, border crossings, and other ports of entry where 
        the currency can be smuggled out of the United States and 
        placed in a foreign financial institution or sold on the black 
        market.
            (3) The transportation and smuggling of cash in bulk form 
        may now be the most common form of money laundering, and the 
        movement of large sums of cash is one of the most reliable 
        warning signs of drug trafficking, terrorism, money laundering, 
        racketeering, tax evasion and similar crimes.
            (4) The intentional transportation into or out of the 
        United States of large amounts of currency or monetary 
        instruments, in a manner designed to circumvent the mandatory 
        reporting provisions of subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 
        31, United States Code, is the equivalent of, and creates the 
        same harm as, the smuggling of goods.
            (5) The arrest and prosecution of bulk cash smugglers are 
        important parts of law enforcement's effort to stop the 
        laundering of criminal proceeds, but the couriers who attempt 
        to smuggle the cash out of the United States are typically low-
        level employees of large criminal organizations, and thus are 
        easily replaced. Accordingly, only the confiscation of the 
        smuggled bulk cash can effectively break the cycle of criminal 
        activity of which the laundering of the bulk cash is a critical 
        part.
            (6) The current penalties for violations of the currency 
        reporting requirements are insufficient to provide a deterrent 
        to the laundering of criminal proceeds. In particular, in cases 
        where the only criminal violation under current law is a 
        reporting offense, the law does not adequately provide for the 
        confiscation of smuggled currency. In contrast, if the 
        smuggling of bulk cash were itself an offense, the cash could 
        be confiscated as the corpus delicti of the smuggling offense.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are as follows:
            (1) To make the act of smuggling bulk cash itself a 
        criminal offense.
            (2) To authorize forfeiture of any smuggled cash and other 
        monetary instruments, together with any other property involved 
        in the smuggling offense.
            (3) To emphasize the seriousness of the act of bulk cash 
        smuggling.
            (4) To prescribe guidelines for determining the amount of 
        property subject to forfeiture in various situations.

SEC. 3. BULK CASH SMUGGLING INTO OR OUT OF THE UNITED STATES.

    (a) Enactment of Bulk Cash Smuggling Offense.--Subchapter II of 
chapter 53 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following:
``Sec. 5331. Bulk cash smuggling into or out of the United States
    ``(a) Criminal Offense.--
            ``(1) In general.--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 individual or in any 
        conveyance, article of luggage, merchandise, or other 
        container, and transports or transfers or attempts 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).
            ``(2) Concealment on person.--For purposes of this section, 
        the concealment of currency on the person of any individual 
        includes concealment in any article of clothing worn by the 
        individual or in any luggage, backpack, or other container worn 
        or carried by such individual.
    ``(b) Penalty.--
            ``(1) Term of imprisonment.--A person convicted of a 
        currency smuggling offense under subsection (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 seizure, restraint, and 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 insufficient 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 commit such violation, and 
        any property traceable to such violation or conspiracy, may be 
        seized and, subject 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, container, or 
        conveyance used, or intended to be used, to conceal or 
        transport the currency or other monetary instrument, and any 
        other property used, or intended 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 derived from a legitimate source, and were 
        intended for a lawful purpose, the court shall reduce the 
        forfeiture to the maximum amount that is not grossly 
        disproportional to the gravity of the offense.
            ``(2) Factors to be considered.--In determining 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.
                    ``(B) Efforts by the person committing the offense 
                to structure currency transactions, conceal property, 
                or otherwise obstruct justice.
                    ``(C) Whether the offense is part of a pattern of 
                repeated violations of Federal law.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for subchapter II 
of chapter 53 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by inserting 
after the item relating to section 5330, the following new item:

``5331. Bulk cash smuggling into or out of the United States.''.

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 follows:
    ``(c) Forfeiture.--
            ``(1) In general.--The court in imposing sentence for any 
        violation of section 5313, 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 subsection shall 
        be governed by the procedures established in section 413 of the 
        Controlled Substances Act and the guidelines established in 
        paragraph (4).
            ``(3) Civil forfeiture.--Any property involved in a 
        violation of section 5313, 5316, or 5324, or any conspiracy to 
        commit any such violation, and any property traceable to any 
        such violation or conspiracy, may be seized and, subject to 
        paragraph (4), forfeited to the United States in accordance 
        with the procedures governing civil forfeitures 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 instruments 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 
                maximum 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 mitigating facts and circumstances that 
                have a bearing on the gravity of the offense, including 
                the following:
                            ``(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 transactions, 
                        conceal property, or otherwise obstruct 
                        justice.
                            ``(iii) Whether the offense is part of a 
                        pattern of repeated violations of Federal 
                        law.''.
    (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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