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full screen Courts should check income information, the debaters write. Archive image. Photo: Henrik Montgomery/TT
Defendants are free to lie in court about their income in order to pay lower fines. Chamber prosecutors Jan Leopoldson and Jonas Myrdal write this on DN Debatt and demand countermeasures from the government.
According to the debaters – who work at the Ecocrime Authority – courts currently do not require accused persons to submit documentation for their income or wealth information, which means that the state is missing out on large sums.
“As none of what the defendant states is checked more closely and he has no obligation to stick to the truth or present any kind of documentation, this means that many people get away with lower fines and, above all, lower or no reimbursement at all of their legal fees.”
According to Jan Leopoldson and Jonas Myrdal, the government must, among other things, make it a criminal offense to provide incorrect information about one’s personal finances.
In addition, courts should be given the opportunity to collect information on income from authorities, banks and employers, they believe.