Bloomberg — Here’s another 1.3 million pounds (€1.86 million) Greece owes: Its embassy in London has racked up 11,420 unpaid fines on its vehicles, the U.K. Foreign Office revealed Thursday. One consolation: the Germans owe more.
The fines, accumulated between 2003 and the end of last year, are for the Greek diplomatic mission failing to pay the congestion charge, a fee levied on most cars and trucks being driven in central London between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m Monday to Friday.
But the Greeks aren’t the worst offenders: the U.S. Embassy tops the naughty list with 9.4 million pounds in outstanding debt, followed by Japan and Nigeria, according to a statement to Parliament by Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond. Greece is 19th on the list; behind fellow euro-zone members Germany with 4.1 million pounds, France and Spain. Transport for London, which administers the charge, is owed 87 million pounds by diplomatic missions.
The Foreign Office said in an e-mailed statement it wrote to diplomatic missions with high outstanding debts in March 2014, requesting payment as a matter of priority.
