Cornyn, Blackburn Introduce Bill to Prevent Fraudsters from Sending Suitcases of Cash to Somalia to Fund Terrorists

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Cornyn, Blackburn Introduce Bill to Prevent Fraudsters from Sending Suitcases of Cash to Somalia to Fund Terrorists
Legislation Would Target Informal, Untraceable Muslim Banking System

March 12, 2026

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) today introduced the Stop Somali Currency Airport Smuggling through Hawalas (CASH) Fraud Act, which would target hawalas, an informal system Somalis and individuals from other Muslim-majority countries use to transfer money, by expanding the disclosure requirements for non-citizens who are transporting cash from the U.S. to high-risk countries like Somalia:

“For decades, people who are not U.S. citizens have used the archaic, untraceable hawala banking system to ship hundreds of millions of dollars back to their homelands with little oversight,” said Sen. Cornyn. “As the now-exposed Somali fraud empire in Minnesota has proven, more transparency is desperately needed to ensure large amounts of currency transported out of the U.S. to high-risk countries like Somalia are not being used for nefarious or even terroristic purposes, and this legislation would provide just that.”

“We cannot allow illegal aliens to walk out of our airports with suitcases full of cash they may have stolen from American taxpayers,” said Sen. Blackburn. “The Stop Somali CASH Fraud Act would strengthen TSA regulations and empower Customs and Border Protection to vet these cash exports and stop illegal aliens from funding threats to our national security.”

Background:

Hawalas are part of an informal banking system in Muslim communities that became popular in Somalia in the early 1990s after civil war broke out and led to the collapse of many major government institutions, including the banking system. The civil war also caused many Somalis to move to other countries, such as the United States. Once in the U.S., Somalis would use mainstream financial institutions to transfer money as part of the hawala system back to their families in Somalia, but that largely ended in 2011 when two Somali women in Minnesota were convicted of sending al-Shabab terrorists more than $8,500 through the hawala system. Because of this, transfers through the present-day hawala banking system exclusively deal in cash and are largely untraceable, making the system ripe for fraud. It is well-known among the public and U.S. Transportation Security Agency (TSA) that the Minnesota Somali community has been enlisting couriers to fly from the U.S. to Somalia with suitcases full of undisclosed amounts of cash under the guise of the hawala system for years.

Current law requires individuals departing or entering the U.S. with more than $10,000 in cash to file FinCEN Form 105. Unfortunately, the form as written is not detailed enough to ensure such funds are not being sent overseas to fund terrorism and is often filled out at the time of departure, often preventing authorities from halting suspicious cash movements. Sen. Cornyn’s legislation would foster greater transparency and ensure money transported out of the U.S. under the hawala system is traceable.

The Stop Somali Currency Airport Smuggling through Hawalas (CASH) Fraud Act would strengthen FinCEN Form 105 disclosures for non-citizens and for money that is going to countries of concern, including state sponsors of terrorism and countries identified as a high-risk country according to the U.S. Department of State, by requiring:

Additional information from the individual transporting the cash and additional information on the beneficiary of the cash;
Disclosure of whether the monetary instruments being transported are from any federal, state, or local government contract or benefit program;
And filing of the form 72 hours in advance instead of directly with U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the airport.