The Dutch Council of State has ruled that a luxury brothel on one of Amsterdam's famous canals should remain closed definitively. Step into any cab in Amsterdam and you will see the characteristic two doves logo of sex club Yab Yum on a sticker on the dashboard.

Last year, Amsterdam city council withdrew the illustrious sex club's licence in a clampdown on sex industry-connected crime in the capital. The club had allegedly been taken over by a chapter of the Hell's Angels. A member of the Hell's Angels with a criminal record was running the club, while someone else's name was on the deeds. However, the city council believed he was just a front man. Last year it used special legislation known as the Bibob law to close the club. Under Bibob legislation the council has the right to withdraw or refuse a licence to anyone involved in crime or money laundering.

Earlier an Amsterdam court had backed the council's withdrawal of the licence as there was a serious danger of the licence being used for malafide practices, but it found there was not enough evidence to prove claims that the Hell's Angels were behind the takeover of the club. Both parties contested the ruling: the Hell's Angels wanted the club reopened and the city council wanted the link with the Hell's Angels to be recognised by the court. The Council of State now says that the former owner was forced to hand over the club as a result of extortion and that there is a clear link between Yab Yum and the Hell's Angels.

Mayor of Amsterdam Job Cohen is pleased with the outcome. "This is an important Bibob case and it is good that we have been proved right so convincingly. It shows that if we tackle these cases properly the law will back us up."

Photo: Yab Yum brothel - Flickr swankspike