Fines Calculated Based on Wealth and Income in Switzerland
"Local Billionaire Unlikely to Worry About the Penalty"
Swiss System Reflects Income and Assets in Fine Amounts
A French billionaire was caught exceeding the speed limit by 27 km/h while driving in Lausanne, Switzerland, and is facing a fine of up to 90,000 Swiss francs (approximately 150 million KRW).
According to reports from AP and other foreign media on August 13 (local time), a court in Vaud, Switzerland, ordered Mr. A to pay an immediate fine of 10,000 Swiss francs (about 17 million KRW) and ruled that he must pay an additional 90,000 francs if he commits the same offense within the next three years. This man, whose identity has not been disclosed, is a French citizen selected by the Swiss economic weekly Bilanz as one of the 300 wealthiest people in Switzerland, and is known to be a billionaire with assets worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Mr. A was caught by an automatic speed camera in August last year, driving at 77 km/h in a 50 km/h zone in downtown Lausanne. Eight years ago, he committed a similar offense and paid a fine of 10,000 francs, which also came with a condition that a repeat offense would result in an additional fine.
Fines Determined by Wealth
A vehicle passing in front of a Vaud police sign indicating the number of vehicles whose driver's licenses were revoked due to speeding in the construction zone of the A1 highway connecting Lausanne and Yverdon, Switzerland, on June 15, 2010. Photo by AP Yonhap News
The reason such a hefty fine was imposed lies in Switzerland's penalty system. Under the Vaud penal code, fines are determined by considering the individual's income, assets, standard of living, and family financial situation at the time of sentencing. In the past, wealthy drivers received only light penalties, but after a revision of the penal code allowed judges to impose fines for minor offenses such as drunk driving based on personal income and assets, it became possible to levy significant fines.
Poor individuals may serve a short jail term instead of paying a fine, but the wealthy can be fined tens or even hundreds of thousands of francs. In 2010, a millionaire Ferrari driver in St. Gallen made headlines after being fined $290,000 (about 400 million KRW) for speeding.
Even police officers are not exempt from speeding fines in Switzerland. In 2016, a police officer in Geneva was fined after chasing a suspect who had blown up a bank ATM, driving at nearly twice the speed limit.
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