How does declaring money stop money laundering and terrorism? (Mexican, legal, drug)

[scaramouchebluez]

I am sure you are familiar with the law of having to declare $10,000 usd or more whenever you travel with any type of monetary instruments. They claim this is to stop money laundering and terrorism financing. My question is how?

These laws have been in place for a few decades from my understanding, possibly the 1980s. How does someone declaring cash stop terrorist from being financed because bin laden and the rest of the terrorist seem to have no problem transfering money from Saudi Arabia to Pakistan. How is me moving $30,000 from Canada to USA or USA to Cayman Island going to finance terrorist? I am not a terrorist or a money launderer. These anti money laundering laws certainly do not stop

s. Similarly in late 2010, the Wells Fargo-acquired bank, Wachovia, was ordered to pay a $160 million penalty when they failed to detect and investigate the use of their accounts by drug traffickers to launder money into the U.S., including a transfer of $378.4 billion, the equivalent of a third of Mexico’s GDP. Bank of America, it should be noted, is not being charged with any wrongdoing.

FBI: Drug Cartels Use Bank of America to Launder Money

Given that is just ONE bank, it is fair to say that Mexican drug cartels have no real impediment to laundering money and probably launder something like 5-10 trillion a year. So how are these laws allowed when they clearly don't stop terrorist from being financed (because that would require banks to know before hand their customers are terrorist and I severely doubt Osama or most terrorist even use the banking system given that it can be used to track movements) and don't stop money laundering or even impede it.

What is the real purpose of these laws to monitor regular americans?

[Oleg Bach]

The core of free and free enterprise is in the ability to have a little extra tucked away. Some cash that is YOURS and that you really do not want to share cos you NEED it. The super rich and I have known one gentlemen in particular who just before he died had billions of dollars and no one bothered him...Why is it if I or you want to have a bag with 10 thousand dollars in it considered a crime? If you have gathered this money through your own efforts and it was done legally...it is no ones business but your own. If the average guy or woman wants to feel secure and have a primitive old fashioned bank roll - why do they have to live in fear for wanting some security that is out side the system?

I have seen incidents were a person will owe a few thousand in taxes...The have 300 dollars to their name..That 300 is sitting in a bank. The person wakes up in the morning to withdraw q few dollars and low and behold..The tax department has emptied their account..and took their last 300 bucks...leaving the person unable to function. How does that help anyone? As for being branded a terrorist because you stuff a wad of cash in the sock drawer....It is oppressive. It seems that some RICH people who hold office and pass laws have this mentality - That..

Only THEY are allowed to have money and YOU are not.

[Just Over The Horizon]

It doesn't really. Certain people just like knowing where money goes and who has it and if they are affiliated with particular groups. Terrorism & cartels are just a pretext to allow the tracking.

It comes down to taxation and the fact that the penultimate use for that money is to grow more money officially thru investments. It is a corporatist scheme to make hoarding on the individual level more difficult so that everyone has a communal stake in maintaining the monopoly game. It's the same reason deposits or debits are traced in levels over $10,000 and must be reported to the IRS, an arm of the Fed.

With fiat currency you must remember the agency that attributes the arbitrary worth to the paper and what they are ultimately up to. Then you will know why these restrictions are in place.