how to report about my relative to govt agencies

[Alison47]

What is the name of your state? CT

My relative from India who is a corrupt customs officer carried out the theft of more than $150,000 (in Indian Rupees) from our home in India. This relative is big in Money laundering and gold smuggling in India.
My Nephew and I registered two criminal cases against him in an Indian court. The local police station created an F.I.R. on him did an investigation and submitted a charge sheet to the court. My second case is also in progress and the court ordered an investigation into him. I came to know that this relative came to the USA last February 2023 on a visiting visa with a lot of cash and handed it over to his cousin brother in San Francisco, CA.

How can I report this relative and his cousin to govt agencies so that they cancel his visitor visa or take action against his cousin?
Please let me know which agencies I can approach and how I can report about these two people. I appreciate it.

Thank you in advance.

Al

 

[adjusterjack]

The IRS and the USCIS come to mind. They each have websites with instructions about reporting.

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state? CT

My relative from India who is a corrupt customs officer carried out the theft of more than $150,000 (in Indian Rupees) from our home in India. This relative is big in Money laundering and gold smuggling in India.
My Nephew and I registered two criminal cases against him in an Indian court. The local police station created an F.I.R. on him did an investigation and submitted a charge sheet to the court. My second case is also in progress and the court ordered an investigation into him. I came to know that this relative came to the USA last February 2023 on a visiting visa with a lot of cash and handed it over to his cousin brother in San Francisco, CA.

How can I report this relative and his cousin to govt agencies so that they cancel his visitor visa or take action against his cousin?
Please let me know which agencies I can approach and how I can report about these two people. I appreciate it.

Thank you in advance.

Al

You can contact authorities in India to let them know his whereabouts.

 

[Taxing Matters]

I second quincy's advice that you ought to report this to the Indian authorities. What you describe is almost certianly a crime in that country.

There might not be any violation of U.S. law from this considering that 150,000 Indian Rupees amounts to just over $1,800 given current currency conversion rates. I'll give you some background on the basics of a foreign person bringing in money to the US and making gifts to others in the U.S. so you can get an idea of what would trigger reporting or paying a tax on the money he brought in so you'll have a sense of whether it's enough to bother filing a report to either U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for bringing in a large amount of tax or to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for large amounts of gifts given/received in the U.S.

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) covers the law regarding people coming into the U.S., not property. So the USCIS would only be involved here if he has violated the terms of his visa, overstayed his visa, or is otherwise not permitted to be in the U.S. If he has done anything like that, then the USCIS is the place to report that.

Under US law a foreign person may bring into the country any amount of money without having to pay tax on it. But he would have been required by US law to declare the the amount of money brought into the U.S. if it exceeded $10,000. That is reported to CBP on a FinCEN Form 105. Customs is a part of USCIS. The If he failed to do that, there are penalties for failing to report it. Customs has a web page that explains the rules for bringing cash into the U.S. See also its other page explaining how much money may be brought into the U.S.

But if it was just 150,000 Indian rupees, (about $1,800) that is well below the reporting requirement. But if he did bring in more than $10,000 worth of money (at current conversion rates) you may report that to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) so it can verify whether he followed the law and filed the form. There is no tax or fee for bringing in any amount of cash into the US, so if he had any good advice he'd have reported it if it exceeded $10,000. He doesn't incur any cost to do that, but there are penalties for not filing the form when required. So the smart thing for him to have done is declare the money if it exceeded $10,000.

If he made gifts in the U.S. that combined would exceed $17,000 he would need to file a federal gift tax return and may have gift tax to pay. The gift tax exclusion is much less for a foreign person than it is for U.S. citizens. If the gift to his cousin in San Francisco was $100,000 or more than that cousin would have to file Form 3520 with the IRS. That American cousin would not pay any income tax or gift tax on the gift received regardless of how much he/she received. But the penalty for not filing the form is expensive, so again the smart thing for that cousin to do is file the Form 3520 if he received $100,000 or more from the Indian relative. See the IRS page on Large Gifts Received From a Foreign Person for the details. If you think the gift was that large and you suspect his American cousin didn't report it, you may report that to the IRS.

In short, unless he brought in cash of $10,000 or more the Indian relative doesn't have to report it at all. Regardless of how much money he brought in, there is no customs or other tax for doing that. If he made a gift of $17,000 or more then he would need to also file a federal gift tax return. If the amount of the gift was $100,000 your San Francisco relative would have to file a Form 3520 but would not pay any tax on the gift. If 150,000 Indian rupees is all that is involved, there is no violation of U.S. law and nothing for him to report.

By the way, under U.S. law it would be legal for your Indian relative to open a U.S. bank account and deposit the money into that account without paying any tax. The bank would report the deposit to FinCEN if it exceeds $10,000 in currency or currency equilvants but that would be the only impact. He wouldn't have to do anything other than give the bank the information it requests.

 

[AlmostThere]

Did your relative steal Rs. 150,000 or one Cr. Rs?

 

[Zigner]

There might not be any violation of U.S. law from this considering that 150,000 Indian Rupees amounts to just over $1,800 given current currency conversion rates.

The OP said "$150,000 (in Indian Rupees)" which leads me to believe that he is talking about 150,000 in US dollars. I could be wrong, but it would be best for the OP to clarify if he's speaking of 150,000 USD (12,476,950 INR) or 150,000 INR (1,800 USD).

 

[zddoodah]

How can I report this relative and his cousin to govt agencies so that they cancel his visitor visa or take action against his cousin?

Ummm...call or visit the office(s) of whichever agency(ies) to whom you want to make a report.

Please let me know which agencies I can approach

You can approach anyone you like. The agency that handles immigration is the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.

 

[Taxing Matters]

The OP said "$150,000 (in Indian Rupees)" which leads me to believe that he is talking about 150,000 in US dollars. I could be wrong, but it would be best for the OP to clarify if he's speaking of 150,000 USD (12,476,950 INR) or 150,000 INR (1,800 USD).

I didn't see it that way, obviously, but you may be right. That would fit the circumstances described a bit better. But even $150,000 worth of foreign currency may be brought into the country with no tax. Just a reporting requirement. Thus, there is no reason not to complete the form unless (1) he just didn't know about it, though that information is typically given to travelers by the airline or cruise line, and customs would typically ask about it at the point of entry or (2) he is involved in money laundering, which is what the reporting requirement was meant to attack.

He would have gift tax to pay if he made a gift of $150,000 to his cousin, and the cousin who received it would have an IRS reporting requirement too (though no tax to pay), since the gift is from a nonresident alien. But it's not clear how much the gift actually was, and that's an important detail.

 

[quincy]

My reading of the original post is that the $150,000 referred to the theft in India that spawned investigations and two criminal cases in that country.

Alison47 said she “came to know” that her relative entered the U.S. with “a lot of cash” but did not specify this amount of cash.

I am a bit curious how Alison47 came to know this.

I still think it will be authorities in India who will be most interested in learning of the relative’s visit to the U.S.

 

[Taxing Matters]

Alison47 said she “came to know” that her relative entered the U.S. with “a lot of cash” but did not specify this amount of cash.

Nor did she say how much the gift was either. So we are left with an incomplete picture to say with any certainty what, if any, US laws were violated. I agree with you that the Indian authorities are probably the most interested in what this relative has done. But whether they will get their hands on him is another matter. He may well decide not to go back given the prospect of criminal charges back in India.