“The FPS Justice forwards data on fines that have not been paid to the FPS Finance,” says Francis Adyns, spokesperson for Finance. “This mainly concerns traffic violations, but it can also concern other criminal fines in criminal cases or tax debts. We have the expertise and resources to pursue this.”
The customs mobile brigade has vehicles with license plate scanners that are linked to a database of outstanding fines. These are used during police checks. “If a vehicle is detected that has outstanding fines attached to it, motorists will take that vehicle out of traffic. That also happened here,” says Adyns.
The driver was therefore deliberately pulled over. “In such cases, the driver is asked to pay the overdue amounts immediately. More than 6 million euros, that is quite difficult. The vehicle remains parked and the man is given 30 days to pay the amount. If this is not possible, the vehicle will be permanently seized, confiscated and sold.”
Adyns cannot say where the fines come from. “I cannot give a definitive answer to that. It is our job to collect overdue amounts, we often do not know what it is about.” This could therefore concern traffic fines and/or overdue payments with the tax authorities.
Tags: Outstanding fines million euros Limburg motorists mistake
