The justice ministry has no powers to force banks to accept sex companies as clients, the ministry has told the industry’s lobby group VER.

The VER asked the ministry for help last year after it emerged that banks were closing the accounts of brothels and massage parlours, even though they are legitimate businesses.
The ministry said companies should go to court if banks refuse to do business with them. ‘There is no direct role for the government,’ the letter said.
VER director Andre van Dorst told news agency ANP the government wants the sex industry to be as transparent as possible and therefore had an interest in making sure companies can organise their finances properly.
It was unfair of banks to assume all sex companies are involved in human trafficking and money laundering, he told ANP.