Stupid Congress Tricks: anti-terror bills target cash

[Declan McCullagh]

 From one of the anti-terror bills said to be a sure bet to pass both 
chambers. Typos mine. --Declan

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If a financial institution... reports a suspicious transaction to a 
government agency the financial institution, director, officer, employee, 
or agent may not notify any person involved in that transaction that the 
transaction has been reported...

Any financial institution that makes a voluntary disclosure of any possible 
violation of law or regulation to a government agency.... shall not be 
liable... for such disclosure or for any failure to provide notice of such 
disclosure to the person who is the subject of such disclosure...

Whoever... knowingly conceals more than $10,000 in currency or other 
monetary instruments on his or her person... shall be guilty of a currency 
smuggling offense (and) shall be imprisoned for not more than 5 years.

A person asserting an innocent owner defense under section 983(d) to the 
forfeiture of curency... must... be a bona fide purchaser... and... 
establish that such person took all reasonable steps to determine the 
source of the currency, monetary instruments, or funds; or to verify that 
the currency, monetary instruments, or funds were not derived from illegal 
activity

Upon a showing by the property owner by a preponderence 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...