The Nigerian high commission in London, United Kingdom (UK), has accumulated £8.4 million as unpaid congestion charges.
According to a datasheet released by Transport for London (TfL), the sum is related to unpaid fines and fees that diplomats racked up between the beginning of the congestion charge in 2003 and the end of the previous year.
The TfL is in charge of managing the city’s transport network, which includes the tube, buses, trams, cars, bikes and river services.
A daily fee of £15 is imposed for driving within a designated area of central London between the hours of 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekdays and noon and 6 p.m. on weekends and bank holidays.
There are discounts and exemptions for various groups of people and vehicles, such as residents, taxis, and fully electric cars.
TfL insisted that the payment is a service charge, despite diplomats’ claims that the congestion charge is a tax and they are therefore exempt from paying it under the Vienna Convention.
“This means that diplomats are not exempt from paying it,” the body said in the datasheet.
“The majority of embassies in London do pay the charge, but there remains a stubborn minority who refuse to do so, despite our representations through diplomatic channels.”
According to TfL, the envoys representing different countries owed over £143.53 million in congestion charge payments.
The embassies of the US and Japan are the worst offenders, with debts of £14.6 million and £10.1 million, respectively.
India is in third place with £8.5 million, while Nigeria stands in fourth.
Other countries on the list include Russia, China, Poland, Ghana, Kenya, and France.
The five-page document listed Togo as the country with the least charges at £40.
