The owner of a South Melbourne brothel has accused Bendigo Bank of breaching discrimination laws when it shut down his accounts in a legal battle playing out before the Victorian Supreme Court this week.
Franco Puleo, who has operated the Gotham City brothel since 1999, commenced proceedings against the bank last year after it closed six of his accounts claiming the sex industry was outside of its “risk appetite”.
He claims the bank’s action violated Victoria’s Equal Opportunity Act, which prohibits discrimination based on a profession, trade or occupation.
“A substantial reason for BAB’s [Bendigo’s] decision to close the Accounts was because of the applicants’ attributes of having a profession, trade or occupation in the sex industry,” Puleo’s lawyers wrote in a statement of claim obtained by this masthead.
As a result of the bank’s actions, Puleo claims to have lost income, and suffered “hurt, humiliation, distress, upset, anxiety, severe disappointment and injury to his feelings”.
But in its defence, Bendigo Bank says that it closed Puleo’s bank accounts in order to “protect its legitimate interest” by meeting its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism obligations.
“The Bank’s ability to make decisions about which customers it provides services to is critical to its ability to manage risks, including the risk that the provision of its services might involve or facilitate money laundering or the financing of terrorism,” Bendigo submitted in its defence.
Bendigo said that it had designated brothels and sex work agencies to be high-risk customers under guidelines provided by AUSTRAC, the regulator that monitors money laundering and financial crimes.
In January 2025, the bank had undertaken due diligence on Gotham City’s accounts, and concluded that it could not adequately mitigate and manage the level of risk presented by continuing to manage them, and concluded that it had to close them, the bank said in its defence.
In a statement released this week, Gotham City’s owner said the bank’s actions amounted to “discrimination and corporate bullying at the highest level”.
“In today’s society, access to banking is essential,” he said.
“Banks hold enormous power over people’s livelihoods and there must be accountability when that power is used unfairly”.
He claims the legal matter has cost him $900,000.
The matter proceeded to trial, with a hearing before Justice Patricia Matthews in the Victorian Supreme Court taking place this week.
Bendigo Bank declined to comment as the matter is currently before the courts.
Gotham City House of Sin, which describes itself as “Australia’s first and only eight-star brothel” has had a colourful recent past. In 2019, Puleo was charged with drug offences and running an illegal sex business. The charges were dropped in 2023, and Puleo told The Herald Sun that he was a victim of police persecution which had cost him $700,000. He said he had always done things by the book.
Last month, the venue was hit by bullets during a drive-by shooting in the early hours of the morning. Police are investigating whether the offender is linked to a spate of attacks on Melbourne hospitality venues committed by figures linked to organised crime.
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Kishor Napier-Raman is a senior business writer for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Previously he worked as a CBD columnist and reporter in the federal parliamentary press gallery.Connect via X or email.