ðə fˈɛdɚɹəl ɡˈʌvɚnmənt sˈɔːt fˈɔːɹfɪtʃɚɹ ʌvðɪ ɛntˈaɪɚ sˈʌm ˌʌndɚ ðə bˈæŋk sˈiːkɹᵻsi ˈækt bˌiːˌɛsˈeɪ, wˌɪtʃ ɹᵻkwˈaɪɚz ˈɔːl ˌɪntɚnˈæʃənəl kˈɜːɹənsi tɹˈænsfɜːz ɛksˈiːdɪŋ dˈɑːlɚ tˈɛn,zˈiəɹoʊzˈiəɹoʊ zˈiəɹoʊ ɪn vˈæljuː təbi ɹᵻpˈoːɹɾᵻd ˌɔn ɐ kˈɜːɹənsi ænd ˈʌðɚ mˈɑːnɪtˌɛɹi ˈɪnstɹəmənts ɹᵻpˈoːɹt sˈiːmˈɜː; ðə bˌiːˌɛsˈeɪ ˈɔːlsoʊ ɐlˈaʊz fˈɔːɹfɪtʃɚɹ ʌv "ˌɛni pɹˈɑːpɚɾi, ɹˈiːəl ɔːɹ pˈɜːsənəl" ɪn kˈeɪsᵻz ʌv vaɪəlˈeɪʃənz.
The federal government sought forfeiture of the entire sum under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), which requires all international currency transfers exceeding $10,000 in value to be reported on a Currency and Other Monetary Instruments Report (CMIR); the BSA also allows forfeiture of "any property, real or personal" in cases of violations.