• The agents detected numerous coins using X-rays in the checked luggage, so they proceeded to check the rest of the luggage.

• The traveler carried most of the money hidden in wallets and purses inside his hand luggage.

September 4, 2025.- On July 25, officials from the Tax Agency's Customs Surveillance Service, along with Civil Guard officers from the Tax and Border Section at Bilbao Airport, seized more than 3,900 one-euro coins, 21,270 euros, and 1,736 Swiss francs in undeclared banknotes from a passenger at Bilbao Airport.

Officials from the Tax Agency's Customs Surveillance Service and Civil Guards, both acting as the State's Fiscal Guard under the functional authority of the Regional Customs Unit of the Tax Agency in the Basque Country, carry out daily, among other activities, currency checks on passengers and baggage in the departures area of Bilbao Airport.

In one of these analyses, they detected, through X-ray examination of checked baggage, two suitcases containing a large amount of coins. After locating the owner, an American passenger bound for Frankfurt, his luggage was inspected.

Inside the checked bags, 3,983 euros in one-euro coins were found, and in the carry-on luggage, 21,270 euros in bills and 1,736 Swiss francs (equivalent to 1,860 euros at the current exchange rate) were found hidden in various briefcases and wallets.

The total amount was 25,253 euros, without the traveler submitting the mandatory declaration of movement of means of payment (form E-1). Following these events, €24,253 and 1,736 Swiss francs were seized, leaving the passenger with €1,000 as a minimum survival sum.

The seized money was deposited into a Bank of Spain account designated for this type of case, and a complaint was filed and sent to the Secretariat of the Commission for the Prevention of Money Laundering and Monetary Offenses.

Currency Declaration

We remind you that if you transport 10,000 euros or more (or the equivalent in another currency) when entering or leaving Spain, you must submit the mandatory declaration of movement of means of payment to the agents. Complying with this obligation avoids penalties and contributes to everyone's financial security.