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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A pilot who runs an executive jet company that has transported the president of Guyana was arrested after U.S. agents found more than $600,000 in undeclared cash inside his aircraft during a stop in Puerto Rico, authorities said Wednesday.
Khamraj Lall, the CEO Exec Jet Club LLC, was in custody at a federal jail in San Juan on suspicion of intent to evade currency reporting, said Carol Torres, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Lall was the co-pilot on a flight to Guyana when agents from U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security Investigations searched the aircraft when it stopped to refuel Saturday. He and the two others on board reported carrying about $12,000, but agents found $620,588 in plastic bags inside the plane, Torres said.
U.S. law requires amounts over $10,000 to be declared.
Torres said the source of the money is under investigation.
Lall, 47, is a native of Guyana who lives in Ringwood, New Jersey. A spokesman for Guyanese President Donald Ramotar said the government is still trying to determine how many times the company has transported the president.
"Anyone can use a plane or a taxi. It should not be taken to mean anything," spokesman Kwame McKoy said.
A person answering the phone at Exec Jet Club said no one at the company's offices in Gainesville, Florida, would comment on the arrest and declined to identify Lally's attorney. A bond hearing was scheduled for Monday.
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