One of Finland’s richest men seems to have a need for speed—and he’s certainly paying the price.
According to ABC News, multimillionaire Andres Wiklöf was traveling in the country’s land Islands toward the area’s capital, Mariehamn, when police pulled him over for speeding about 50 mph in a 30 mph zone.The businessman received a 10-day license suspension and a staggering $129,000 (€121,000) fine as a result of his quick action.
Wiklöf informed local media that he was aware he was above the speed limit, which changed “suddenly,” according to ABC News. He attempted to slow down but was unable to do it soon enough. “I sincerely regret the situation,” he told Land Island’s major newspaper, Nya land.
And the higher the fine, the greater your wealth—at least, that’s how it works in Finland. The country’s “Day-Fine” system decides the size of the punishment a person receives from law enforcement, which is mostly based on the individual’s income. Back in 1921, the country was the first in the Nordic region to introduce an income-based system, and numerous European countries followed suit.
This isn’t Wiklöf’s first high-profile offense: According to ABC News, he received a $101,677 (€95,000) punishment in 2013 and a $67,427 (€63,000) penalty in 2018, totaling nearly $300,000 in speeding tickets over the previous decade. “I have heard that they are going to save one and a half billion euros on health care in Finland, so I hope that the money can fill a gap there,” the businessman told Nya land.
According to ABC News, Wiklöf is one of Finland’s wealthiest men. He is the chairman of Wiklöf Holding, a corporate empire that encompasses trade, real estate, and logistics enterprises, and has an estimated net worth of more than $10 million.
Wiklöf’s fine, however, pales in contrast to one of the largest fines levied by a government using a Day-Fine system. According to ABC News, a Swedish motorist caught driving 170 kilometers per hour (105 mph) over the speed limit was fined $1,091,340 (3,600 Swiss francs each day for 300 days).