Checked baggage

Germany busts Iranian with $70m

Customs officials in Dusseldorf stop man arriving from Turkey who didn’t declare enormous sum of money

1 February 2013, 8:31 pm

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Venezuelan bolivares (photo credit: CC BY-SA ¡Fgz!, Flickr)

BERLIN (AP) — An Iranian man faces a hefty fine after trying to enter Germany with a check worth about $70 million in his hand luggage.

Customs officials at Duesseldorf airport say the man, who had arrived on a flight from Turkey, told officers he was carrying less than the €10,000 ($13,644) threshold that needs to be declared.

But when officers searched the unidentified 59-year-old’s bags they found a check for 300 million Venezuelan Bolivares issued by the Bank of Venezuela.

Customs officials said in a statement Friday that the check was impounded since the Iranian was unable to offer a plausible explanation about its intended recipient and purpose.

The man faces a fine of up to €1 million ($1.4 million).