Bond for Pilot Detained With Cash in Puerto Rico

A judge ordered the release on bond of a pilot and CEO who was arrested in Puerto Rico after authorities found more than $600,000 in undeclared cash inside his plane, his lawyer said Monday.

The federal court judge approved bond of $100,000 for Khamraj Lall while a grand jury decides whether to indict him, defense attorney Rafael Castro Lang said.

Lall, 47, is the CEO Exec Jet Club LLC, a company based in Gainesville, Florida, that has flown the president of his native Guyana on official trips. The businessman will be allowed to leave Puerto Rico and return home to Ringwood, New Jersey under the terms of the bond.

Lall was the co-pilot on a flight to Guyana when U.S. federal agents searched the aircraft during a refueling stop in Puerto Rico. He and the two others on board reported carrying about $12,000, but agents found $620,588 in plastic bags inside the plane, according to court documents.

U.S. law requires amounts over $10,000 to be declared. Lall was jailed on suspicion of intent to evade currency reporting.

Following his arrest in the U.S. island territory, the government of Guyana said in a statement that Lall's company has transported delegations led by President Donald Ramotar on three official trips overseas.

Bond for Pilot Detained With Cash in Puerto Rico