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Sobyanin Orders Traffic Chief to Fix Fine System Pronto

Acting Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has promised to give out the Moscow traffic police chief's personal telephone number if the kinks in the system for paying fines for driving offenses are not ironed out soon.

"People can't find information on the portal telling them if their fine has been successfully paid off or not," Sobyanin told traffic police chief Alexander Ilin. "I asked for a special system to be set up to allow citizens to check without problems the status of their penalties."

Ilin said information about unpaid fines was posted on the traffic police website. He said that the site also contained information about what to do if the payment status displayed was inaccurate and that it was possible to fill out an electronic complaint form in such cases.

But Sobyanin was not finished, instructing Ilin to tell his employees that their job was to help people and that all traffic police departments must provide adequate information about who to call and where to go if they need information.

"No offense, but if the system isn't put in working order soon, I will give out your personal phone numbers: mobile and home," Sobyanin told Ilin and Deputy Mayor Maxim Liksutov.

He also demanded the creation of a special 24/7 hotline to take questions relating to fines, and said it should be staffed "by not just one operator."

Liksutov said questions about payment could be directed to the transport department's call center: (495) 539-22-99. He added that the problem had arisen because not all banks provided timely information on the payment of fines to the federal treasury, which sends information to the traffic police.

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