Nearly 100,000 Moscow taxi drivers have been sanctioned by law enforcement officers for violations including overcharging customers, operating an unlicensed taxi and driving without a license during the World Cup in Russia.
At least 3 million Russian and foreign tourists descended onto Moscow during the month-long football championship this summer. The Moscow branch of Russia’s Interior Ministry investigated 183,000 taxicabs after June 19 following complaints about inflated prices, its deputy chief was quoted as saying.
“Administrative proceedings have been brought against more than 95,000 drivers,” the RBC news website quoted Moscow’s deputy police chief, Sergei Plakhikh, as saying Thursday.
A “majority” of the cases involved price hikes, RBC cited him as saying.
High-profile cases of overcharging around the World Cup featured a Vietnamese tourist who was billed 23,000 rubles ($360) for a ride to Sheremetyevo Airport from Moscow and a Saudi fan who paid 30,000 rubles ($470), according to the Newsru.com website.
More than 1,000 foreigners were ordered to leave Russia and 341 were deported during the World Cup, Plakhikh was quoted as saying by Interfax.
