Infamous Amsterdam brothel Yab Yum must close

Apparently as part of its recent clean-up efforts, the City of Amsterdam late last year ordered one of the world’s most exclusive brothels to close its doors.

The club – which operates from a 17th-Century canal house in Old Amsterdam and charges clients about $500 ( £250) a time – challenged the move. But a court has now sided with city officials.

The infamous Yab Yum brothel in Amsterdam, which calls itself the world’s most exclusive men’s club, must shut its doors, a court ruled yesterday.

Yab Yum took legal action last month after the city council decided to withdraw its licence based on a law that allows it to close companies that could be involved in criminal activities. Yab Yum said allegations that it was in the hands of the
Hell’s Angels biker gang were “absolutely wrong”.

But the court backed the city authorities and the club was told that it must shut by Monday.
– Source: The Scotsman, Jan. 4, 2008

The City of Amsterdam has long fought against the local chapter of the Hell’s Angels. It has tried — and failed — to get the courts to declare the bikers club a criminal organization.

BIBOB law

The closure of Yab Yum follows the city’s buy-out of one-third of the brothels is the Red Light District, as well as its radical plans for cleaning up that neighborhood.

In doing so city officials are making use of recent legislation. The so-called BIBOB law passed in 2003 is intended to prevent funds earned through criminal activity being passed through the legal economy. BIBOB (Public Administration Probity in Decision-Making Act) laws were introduced in 2003, targeting the entire service industry (including prostitutes) to prevent organized crime from getting involved.