GAO Reports on CBP Efforts to Stem Cross-Border Currency Smuggling
The Government Accountability Office has published a report on the challenges U.S. Customs and Border Protection faces in their efforts to stop cross-border currency export smuggling.
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New CBP Program Seized $41M in Illicit Bulk Cash Leaving the U.S. from 2009 - 2010
CBP created an Outbound Enforcement Program aimed at stemming the flow of bulk cash leaving the country in March 2009. Under the program, CBP inspects travelers leaving the country at land ports of entry along the southwest border. On the Northern border, inspections are conducted at the discretion of the Port Director.
GAO reports that from March 2009 through June 2010, CBP seized about $41 million in illicit bulk cash leaving the country at land ports of entry. The National Drug Intelligence Center estimates that a total of $18 million to $39 billion a year alone is smuggled across the southwest border as drug trafficking proceeds
CBP in Early Phases of Program, Has Limited Technology, Etc.
GAO reports that significant challenges remain for CBP to stop the flow of bulk cash leaving the country, including limited technology, infrastructure, and procedures to support outbound operations. CBP is in the early phases of this program and has not yet taken some actions to gain a better understanding of how well the program is working, such as gathering data for measuring program costs and benefits.
(GAO-11-73, dated October 2010)