Andrew B. Silva, 49, a Virginia surgeon, pleaded guilty in U. S. district court to conspiracy to defraud the U. S. Government by hiding about $250,000 from the Internal Revenue Service by smuggling 26 cash payments to the U. S.

Silva also admitted to falsely telling U. S. Customs Inspectors at Dulles International Airport that he had not mailed U. S. currency from Switzerland to the United States.

A source identified that the banker worked for HSBC, although the court documents referred to bank as "one of the largest international banks in the world, with headquarters in England ".

After notification that the bank would stop holding his account, Silva attempted to send the money back through the mail in increments of less than $10,000 to evade reporting rules.

To evade the reporting requirement, U. S. law bars “structuring” or the mailing of cash in amounts of less than $10,000.

Silva faces five years in prison on the conspiracy count and five years on the false statements count but he is free on a $50,000 personal recognizance bond.

“I really want to correct the things that I have done wrong”, Silva told U. S. District Judge Liam O’Grady.

"We're definitely not going to tolerate that type of behavior", Justice Department attorney Kevin Downing said.