Unlawful Structuring of Currency Transactions
Federal law prohibits structuring multiple cash deposits to avoid the bank’s preparation and filing with the IRS of a Currency Transaction Report. A financial institution must prepare a report when a customer makes a cash deposit of $10,000 or more.
The crime for unlawful structuring of currency transactions involves violations of 31 U.S.C. §5324(a)(3). Knowledge is an element of the criminal charge.
For example, to establish a violation of the structuring laws, the government must prove that the currency was deposited in amounts under $10,000 for the specific purpose of evading bank reporting requirements. See 31 U.S.C. § 5324.
Many of these forfeiture investigations involve Special Agents with the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Civil asset forfeiture cases are filed and litigated by an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) in the U.S. District Court of Appeals.
Attorney for Currency Transaction Structuring Crimes in Florida
If you are accused of unlawful structuring of currency transactions, then contact a federal criminal defense attorney at Sammis Law Firm.
The most common allegations involve structuring multiple cash deposits to avoid the bank’s preparation and filing with the IRS of a Currency Transaction Report under 31 U.S.C. §5324(a)(3). We represent clients charged with money laundering related offenses for causing or attempting to cause a domestic financial institution to fail to file a currency transaction report pursuant to 31 U.S.C. § 5324(a)(1).
We also represent clients accused of structuring $10,000 to evade the reporting requirements of the FinCEN Form 105 when taking an international flight at the airport into or out of the United States.
In those cases, a federal agent with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), or the IRS might seize a bank account for civil asset forfeiture proceedings.
Contact us to discuss your case.
Call 813-250-0500.
Crimes under the Currency and Foreign Transaction Reporting Act
The Currency and Foreign Transaction Reporting Act is commonly known as the “Bank Secrecy Act.” The Bank Secrecy Act and its accompanying federal regulations require financial institutions to report any transaction in currency of more than $10,000 through the filing of a currency transaction report (CTR) with the U.S. Department of the Treasury as required by 31 U.S.C. § 5313(a) and 31 C.F.R. § 1010.311.
These reporting requirements are designed to facilitate the government’s investigation of criminal activity. Even a bank’s failure to file a required CTR subjects it to criminal penalties as outlined in 31 U.S.C. § 5322.
The Bank Secrecy Act also seeks to prevent individuals from circumventing a financial institution’s reporting requirements. For example, Section 5324(a) imposes criminal liability on any person who:
- causes a financial institution to fail to file a CTR;
- causes it to report false information on a CTR; or
- structures transactions in an attempt to evade the CTR reporting requirement.
§ 5324(a)(1) targets conduct that prevents a required CTR from being filed, while § 5324(a)(3) targets efforts that prevent a financial institution’s duty to file a CTR from being triggered in the first place.
Section 5324(a)(1) prohibits, “for the purpose of evading the reporting requirements[,] . . . caus[ing] or attempt[ing] to cause a domestic financial institution to fail to file a report required under section 5313(a) or 5325 or any regulation prescribed under any such section . . . .” 31 U.S.C. § 5324(a)(1) (emphasis added).
§ 5324(a)(1) is violated only when an individual causes or attempts to cause a financial institution not to file a currency transaction report (CTR) that it had a legal duty to file. As a result, before a § 5324(a)(1) violation can occur, the financial institution’s reporting requirement must be triggered.
In most cases, the reporting requirement is triggered when a person makes a single transaction over $10,000. Additionally, 31 C.F.R. § 1010.313(b) also regulates “aggregation” when several currency transactions are treated as a single transaction because the financial institution has knowledge:
- the transactions were made by or on behalf of any person; and
- resulted in either cash in or cash out;
- that cash in or cash out totaled more than $10,000 during any one business day.
In aggregation cases, the financial institution includes all of its domestic branch offices as explained in § 1010.313(a). As a result, when the bank has knowledge that a customer made a series of transactions at its branches, collectively exceeding $10,000 in a single business day, the bank is obliged to file a CTR.
§ 5324(a)(3) prohibits structuring “any transaction with one or more domestic financial institutions” to evade reporting requirements as required by 31 U.S.C. § 5324(a)(3), even when “those transactions, individually or collectively, do not trigger the institution’s obligation to file a CTR. See United States v. Leon, 841 F.3d 1187, 1191 (11th Cir. 2016).
31 C.F.R. § 1010.100(xx) defines structuring as “conduct[ing] or attempt[ing] to conduct one or more transactions in currency, in any amount, at one or more financial institutions, on one or more days, in any manner, for the purpose of evading the reporting requirements . . . .” A common example of structuring involves “breaking down . . . a single sum of currency exceeding $10,000 into smaller” transactions conducted “on one or more days,” “at one or more financial institutions[.]” Id.
This article was last updated on Friday, December 5, 2025.