Former President of Guinea pleads guilty to bulk cash smuggling, making false statements

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The former president of Guinea in West Africa and current general commander of the Security Forces of the African Union, pleaded guilty Tuesday to bulk cash smuggling and making false statements. This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

On June 15, 2013, Sekouba Konate, 51, arrived at Washington Dulles International Airport from Ethiopia illegally carrying thousands of dollars in undeclared cash. Konate previously had applied for and received a G-4 visa to visit the U.S. based upon his employment with a foreign government. From about January 2010 to December 2010, Konate served as the transitional President of Guinea following a military coup. From about December 2010 to the present, he has served as the general commander of the Security Forces of the African Union, a military organization of 54 member states. 

Upon his arrival at Dulles Airport, Konate approached primary inspection and handed the assigned officer from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), among other things, a signed customs declaration form that falsely and willfully represented that he was not carrying more than $10,000 in U.S. currency or its equivalent anywhere on his person or in his effects. When asked by the CBP officer for a verbal confirmation, Konate falsely and willfully repeated the same representation, even though he knew that he was carrying in excess of $10,000, which was concealed on himself and in his luggage, in order to evade a currency-reporting requirement.

Following his referral to secondary inspection for further investigation, Konate encountered two other CBP officers and an HSI special agent. The officers once again asked Konate if he was carrying more than $10,000. This time, Konate responded that he was and amended his customs declaration form to reflect the $14,000 in U.S. currency he was carrying in his wallet.  In truth and in fact, Konate knew he was carrying significantly more currency at the time and willfully and materially made a false statement on his customs declaration form that misrepresented the actual amount of currency that he had concealed in his luggage. Based upon the inconsistency in his prior responses, CBP officers conducted a preliminary search of Konate’s luggage. The search revealed an additional $30,750 in U.S. currency, which was divided into several stacks of money and was concealed in various compartments of Konate’s luggage. 

Subsequent to the discovery of the $30,750, CBP officers asked Konate to complete a document, a FinCEN 105 form, that he knew would be filed with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the U.S. Department of Treasury. Konate completed and signed the FinCEN 105 form in the presence of the officers and represented he was carrying a total of $44,750 in currency, which accounted for the $14,000 in his wallet and the $30,750 found during the search.  When Konate signed the FinCEN 105 form, he willfully and materially misrepresented the total amount of money that he had concealed in his luggage.

After General Konate signed the FinCEN 105 form, CBP officers conducted a second and more thorough search of his luggage.  During the search, officers discovered an additional $20,020 in U.S. currency, which again was divided into several stacks of money and was concealed in various compartments of Konate’s luggage. Following the searches, Konate possessed a total of $64,770 in U.S. currency, in stark contrast to his initial representation on his customs declaration form that he was not carrying more than $10,000. During his encounters with officers, Konate repeatedly made statements that the questioning of him and accompanying searches were improper given his status as the former President of Guinea and current commanding general of the African Union forces. 

A federal grand jury indicted Konate May 7, and he faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison when sentenced Feb. 19, 2016.