The Customs Anti-Money Laundering Team, in conjunction with the Customs Canine Team, discovered over €19,000 during passenger screenings at the port.

The Romanian national was boarding the ferry to Sicily, when asked whether he had anything to declare to Customs, he responded in the negative. However further inspections resulted in the discovery of €19,235 euro.

Earlier this week, Customs Enforcement Officials also intercepted €11,340 on an Israeli national arriving from Sicily, who failed to declare the cash when asked to declare.  In just a matter of days, Customs has already intercepted €47,985 in undeclared cash during the month of December. 

From the beginning of this year to date, the Customs Anti-Money Laundering Team alongside with the assistance of the Canine Team intercepted a total amount of 643,772 Euro of undeclared cash in 39 separate cases. With the global pandemic and its adverse effects on the Maltese Islands, Customs is still doing its best to defend the borders in the on-going battle when intercepting undeclared movements of cash.

As per national legislation, the passengers agreed to sign an out of court settlement agreement and were fined accordingly. Any cash or signed cheques valued €10,000 or more, are to be declared to Customs when travelling to, through and from Malta. This is also applicable to all other EU countries.