Alkmaar brothels to remain open

Thursday 12 November 2009

The 92 red right windows in Alkmaar are to remain open, despite council efforts to shut them down, the town's district court ruled on Thursday.

The council wanted to withdraw the operating licence from brothel owner Koos Nool because of his alleged criminal connections.

But the court said there was no proof Nool's company is a money laundering operation or that the buildings had been bought with drugs money.

Licences

The ruling is a major setback for the controversial Bibob law, which gives local councils the right to refuse licences and permits to organisations and businesses which they suspect of having criminal links.

Since the Bibob laws were introduced, 376 businesses have lost their operating licence because of concerns about their owners criminal connections. The most famous of these is the Amsterdam brothel Yab Yum.

Last year, the Bibob agency made 667 recommendations. In half the cases, it said there was a 'serious risk' that the company owner was involved in crime.

© DutchNews.nl

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