Paceville’s largest businessman Hugo Chetcuti has gone on record to dismiss warnings of a thriving sex trafficking business in Malta, telling the Malta Independent he “doesn’t believe this exists in Malta, at least not when it comes to adults”. 

In the interview, Chetcuti – who owns the ‘Steam’ strip club underneath Havana – also dismissed there is a problem in Malta of pimps forcing women to continue prostituting themselves. 

“Back in the 1960s, one would hear prostitutes mentioning the pimps, but I don’t think it’s like that anymore…they all work with commission nowadays,” he was quoted as saying. 

Hugo Chetcuti owns several estabishments in Paceville, including the strip club Steam 

The United States Department has, for the fifth consecutive year, recently classified Malta as a source and destination country for women and children sex slaves, with a particular focus on Chinese women working in massage parlours and Eastern European and Russian women working in strip clubs. 

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has also called for the possible regularisation of prostitution, arguing the government can no longer close a blind eye to the plight of women who are being forced to work as prostitutes by criminal gangs. 

However, Chetcuti insisted the strip clubs he has business interests in do not offer sex services, and said strippers are made to sign contracts explicitly stating they are not allowed to leave the club with clients during working hours.

Hugo Chetcuti believes Malta should have its own red-light district 

“Now, if they go on a date later – that’s up to them. We don’t force women to do their work, they have their percentages, and there are club regulations that must be followed,” he said. “They make money, so there are people who consider going into the business to earn a lot of money every day instead of low wages.”

Chetcuti came out in favour of regularising prostitution and proposed the establishment of a red-light district in Malta, with clubs and brothels but not with prostitutes advertising their wares in windows as in Amsterdam. 

“You don’t want to be passing by with children and see a prostitute in a window. It’s like marijuana – if it’s legalised, you still wouldn’t smoke in front of young children,” he said. “No stay-at-home wife would ever agree with prostitution, for fear that their husband would go with one. But there are also prostitutes for women. It is a small percentage, true, but there are.”

“If the strippers go on a date later, then that’s up to them” 

Hugo Chetcuti

“I agree with regularisation, mainly because prostitution has been around for many, many years. At least the government would then be able to control it and get something out of it. Like marijuana, every country is slowly introducing legalisation. One day, it will be legal around the world.”

Do you think the government should regulate the prostitution industry? Let us know in the comments’ section

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Tim Diacono

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]