AMSTERDAM Police arrested two men again Wednesday on suspicion of exploiting prostitutes. The owners of escort agency Pleasure-escort.nl turned themselves in at the police station, reports their lawyer. He denies that the women were forced or exploited.
Pleasure-escort is licensed and offers mainly young women from Eastern Europe. These can be ordered through the website, after which a driver takes them to a hotel room or residence.
According to lawyer Serge Weening, the revenue model is clear: if a client pays 160 euros per hour, the prostitute receives 50 euros. After paying the driver, the escort agency is left with about 85 euros. After payment of VAT, payroll tax and income tax, 30 euros remains. 'I don't call that exploitation,' says the counselor. 'The biggest exploiter is the tax authorities.
The owners of Pleasure-escort, Arne S. (33) and Steffen B. (29), are jailed on suspicion of human trafficking. The former student and a former employee of a telecom company were actually trying to run a neat escort business, according to Weening.
'With respect for the women, without wrong types.' He blames the justice system for using disproportionate means, such as texting hundreds of regular customers. 'So they never come back.'
Both suspects operate more websites offering the same women. Those the police did not shut down. 'That is hypocritical. Apparently justice needed a media stunt.' The owner of the second escort agency closed Tuesday, Zuzana.com, has been told that an escort girl has filed charges against him. It involves an argument over 800 euros, claims his business partner.
The business partner will begin a counteraction as soon as Zuzana.com is back on the air. He plans to send his regular customers a text message asking them to tell the police about their experiences with the women. "No one was coerced.
According to the Justice Department, the text message bomb generated dozens of responses. 'From customers who want to help us to people who say they have never ordered an escort girl.' The spokesman acknowledges that such a message can have damaging consequences for customers and escort agencies, but he says the social interest outweighs this. "We want to solve this case and make people aware of abuses in the escort industry and hotels.
