The theory behind the suit is simple. There is nothing in the CAFRA to condition the release of funds on a no-detention agreement. Moreover, this is contrary to the particular obligation to “immediately release” the funds if no recovery action has been introduced within the statutory time frame. And of course, the ban on any other collection procedure by CAFRA CBP directly prohibits the threat of administrative recovery if the detention ban agreement is not signed. In addition, I agree to reimburse the United States, its employees or agents, all necessary expenses, legal fees or costs incurred by the implementation of part of this agreement within thirty (30) days of receiving written notification that the United States, its personnel or agents have been taken care of. In accepting this remission decision, the petitioner understands that he is waiving any application for legal fees, interest or other relief that is not expressly provided for in this decision. Customs will not refund you until you accept your decision. In most cases, you have between 30 and 60 days from the decision date to accept it and you must sign an agreement called Hold Harmless and Release Agreement, which in fact states that you will not sue them for anything as part of the seizure of your money. In practical terms, it is said that in this case, an appeal was brought to request that the case be brought before the federal court. If CBP does not seek the legal cancellation of the currency under the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act (CAFRA), it is necessary for the government to immediately release the seized assets and for the government not to take further steps to cause the civil forfeiture of the seized property (cf. 18.C. that you will recover your money, when CBP receives a signed Hold Release Harmless Agreement agreement , which frees the government from any wrongdoing and prevents you from filing a complaint against the government.
CBP also requires you to sign and return the agreement within 30 days, and if not, currency expiry procedures will be put in place (despite the statute that the government should return your money immediately). Unfortunately, the information process is not clear enough, especially for outgoing passengers. The complaint made it very clear that the current trial is, at best, painful, brutal and, in the worst case, confusing. I really hope that this costume will be clear, that we need to change that, that there must be an easy place to find (at any airport) to declare change before leaving the U.S., easily accessible reporting forms, reach the public and raise awareness (CBP has a great social media platform – it`s a great way to use it). I think that will happen. I don`t think the Hold Harmless deal is going to go away. In this case, there is an obvious violation (the notification form was not filed when the rules should not have been followed, although the rules are not clear and how to follow them). We helped many companies to make the seized goods (and often the seizure should NEVER have taken place).