A man departing Perth International Airport has been fined more than $3,500 for carrying undeclared currency.
Australian Border Force (ABF) officers targeting organised crime and money laundering through undeclared outbound currency, questioned the passenger and performed a baggage examination.
Officers located seven different currencies in the man's carry-on bags:
- 17,200 Australian dollars
- 420 Turkish lira
- 273 Qatari riyal
- 145 United States dollars
- 300 Lebanese pounds
- 365 Singapore dollars
- 1385 United Arab Emirates dirham
While there is no limit to the amount of currency passengers can bring in or out of Australia, amounts of $10,000 AUD or equivalent foreign currency must be declared, which this passenger had not.
Upon further questioning, the man admitted to ABF officers that he had previously received an infringement for the same offence in 2015.
ABF Superintendent Vesna Gavranich said large amounts of currency crossing the border both inbound and outbound can be a sign of criminal activity.
"We are aware of organised crime groups attempting to depart Australia with undeclared excess cash in support of well-established money laundering networks," said Superintendent Gavranich.
"The ABF is committed to removing funds from the pockets of organised crime groups, and restricting their ability to cause harm to our communities."
"If you need to move significant amounts of cash across our border, to avoid heavy penalties you must simply declare it."
ABF infringed the man $3,756, which he paid before boarding his flight.
