The Libertarian in me may be showing a bit here but....why is that curious? Why should doing that be considered a criminal act? If the guy owns the cash it's nobody's business how he chooses to transport it.
You might have a point there.But given that there are far safer ways (that are more "transparent" as well) to do it and that what he did strongly fits the profile of a Bin Laden operative or a drug runner,isn't it reasonable to be *very* suspicious of this?
Section 371 of the Patriot Act makes it a crime to transport in excess of $10k out of the country in luggage. The punishment is 5 years plus forfieture of the cash.