--- title: Diplomats' Unpaid Parking Tickets Total $16 Million description: Diplomats gathered for this week's General Assembly can agree that rules of the road don't apply to them canonical: https://time.com/3421587/diplomats-parking-tickets-new-york/ author: Dan Kedmey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-09-23T13:30:55.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T09:01:38.894Z article:section: Politics og:title: Diplomats' Unpaid Parking Tickets Total $16 Million og:description: Diplomats gathered for this week's General Assembly can agree that rules of the road don't apply to them og:url: https://time.com/3421587/diplomats-parking-tickets-new-york/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta1fdabc58427f7cd/6986a4c33617606e2090e011/71920623.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4368 og:image:height: 2457 og:image:alt: United Nations Prepares For 62nd UN General Assembly og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Diplomats' Unpaid Parking Tickets Total $16 Million twitter:description: Diplomats gathered for this week's General Assembly can agree that rules of the road don't apply to them twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta1fdabc58427f7cd/6986a4c33617606e2090e011/71920623.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Deadbeat Diplomats Owe NYC $16 Million in Unpaid Parking Fines > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=ec75aae3-47ee-45b9-9183-80c7b1fdc97d&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Diplomats Owe NYC More Than $16 Million In Unpaid Parking Tickets [Watch (HLS stream): Diplomats Owe NYC More Than $16 Million In Unpaid Parking Tickets](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/avvk8qy6.m3u8) (1:29)  _Published 2014-09-23. The worst of the worst is Egypt — who owes close to $2 million dollars alone. Nigeria, Indonesia, and Brazil are next on the list all topping $600,000._  by [Dan Kedmey](https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Sep 23, 2014 1:30 PM UTC The worst of the worst is Egypt — who owes close to $2 million dollars alone. Nigeria, Indonesia, and Brazil are next on the list all topping $600,000.  by [Dan Kedmey](https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Sep 23, 2014 1:30 PM UTC Diplomatic staff based in New York City have racked up $16 million in unpaid parking tickets, according to municipal data [obtained](http://online.wsj.com/articles/diplomats-dodge-old-debt-1411438396) by the Wall Street _Journal._ Officials from 180 countries, or all but 15 countries on the planet, have accrued debt related to parking violations. Egypt leads the pack with a whopping $1.9 million tab and 17,499 summonses. Diplomats from Nigeria, Indonesia and Brazil have dues ranging from $600 to nearly $900,000\. Much of the debt dates back to the early 2000s, before mayor Michael Bloomberg cracked down on parking violations and unpaid fines. The Wall Street _Journal_ [includes](http://online.wsj.com/articles/diplomats-dodge-old-debt-1411438396) a graphic breakdown of the 10 biggest violators as well as a range of evasive responses from the artful to the confused to the undiplomatic, proving that if there’s one thing that the world’s diplomats can agree upon at this week’s United Nations[ general assembly](http://time.com/3421316/united-nations-general-assembly/), it’s that the rules of the road don’t apply to them. \[[_WSJ_](http://online.wsj.com/articles/diplomats-dodge-old-debt-1411438396)\] ## Transcript [00:00] If you've ever lived in or even visited New York City, you [00:03] know parking, for those brazen enough to actually have a [00:06] car, can be tricky business. According to a new report from [00:09] the Wall Street Journal, diplomatic visitors to the city owe a [00:13] whopping, wait for it, $ 16 million in unpaid [00:17] parking tickets. As the Journal reports, the worst of the [00:20] worst is Egypt, which owes close to $ 2 million alone. [00:24] Nigeria, Indonesia and Brazil are next on the list all topping [00:28] $ 600, 000 but all less than half of Egypt's total. We're [00:32] not exactly sure why Egypt's total is so much higher than [00:36] everyone elses. But to put it in perspective, officials from [00:39] 180 different country's owe some kind of. Parking fine. [00:43] That's all but 15 of the countries in the world, and good for [00:46] those 15 for staying out of trouble. As the journal notes, the [00:49] bulk of the fines were accrued prior to 2002, when then [00:52] mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration cracked down [00:55] on parking fines. Since then, diplomats have reportedly [00:58] accrued less than $ 750, 000 total in tickets. Of [01:02] course, the city that never sleeps isn't the only place [01:05] combating diplomats run afoul of the law. Australia's 7 [01:09] News reports they aren't always respectful of traffic laws in [01:12] their country either. Drivers from dozens of foreign [01:15] embassies are breaking road rules, even drink driving and [01:19] doing burnouts. This news just so happens to break as the [01:23] UN General Assembly is gathered in New York. 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