The four initiators behind Project C, a Dutch cannabis project that intends to participate in the government experiment Gesloten Coffeeshopketen, wanted a bank account and to exert a little pressure on the system. Yesterday in court in Amsterdam it turned out that they have succeeded in doing so. The bank which was taken to court, ABN AMRO, must within fourteen days provide a bank account for the project.
Much to the delight of the entrepreneurs who so far have advanced all costs themselves without a bank account. The bank account was urgently needed to make the project viable, they stated.
Nothing illegal stands in the way of your account
But why ABN AMRO? Simply because two of the three founders, Van Oers joined later, have been ABN AMRO customers for years. However, the bank did not want to cooperate for fear of money laundering.
The judge ruled, however, that there is no reason for that fear, because Project C is in no way illegal. There is now only a matter of a permit procedure and only after obtaining a permit, cultivation will start in accordance with the government's experiment.
Costs for the bank
And the costs? The judge estimated the amount for applying for a permit at 12,000 euro. An amount that, according to the initiators, is considerably higher and that also includes the costs of finding a cultivation location. And the process costs? Now that the bank has 'been largely deemed wrong', they are for the ABN AMRO account.
Paved the way for others?
The court's ruling can prove to be of great significance for other cannabis initiatives. If they also have trouble finding a banker or getting a bank account, this court ruling may help.
At the same time, it is a great help when pioneers from an existing company set up something and do not start from zero, it can be concluded. The latter was done by Project C. "We opted for transparency by setting up the project separately from our own companies to make a separation. But in the first instance that did not help us," they commented when asked.
The cannabis pioneers can now continue, on their way to 12.5 cannabis production from 2021. That is, if the Ministries of Justice and Health grant a license to the initiative in the middle of next year.