Owner of Reykjavik champagne club denies prostitution claims

"It was a party club, not a brothel," says the former owner of Strawberries Champagne Club which was located in Lækjargata in the city centre before a judge at Reykjavik District Court this morning. 

The man is charged with tax fraud for over 230 million ISK and failing to pay VAT for 52.5 million ISK.  He is also charged with failing to account for wages amounting to 64 million ISK and paying 28 million ISK in taxes. 

The man denied charges and says that he is an invalid with no funds.  He also denies that prostitution took place at Strawberries and says that there is no proof of that. 

Paying for sex is illegal in Iceland and so are brothels.  In April 2009, the Icelandic Parliament passed new legislation that makes paying for sex illegal (the client commits a crime, but not the prostitute).  However if prostitutes themselves work together and run a brothel then that is illegal. Strip clubs and shows have been banned since 2010.

The man furthermore stated that police and the DA seemed to be taking the case against him to the media. "For an entire year the media were reporting stories about me and this seems to have come from the police or the prosecutor."  Furthermore, the man has accused police of taking various valuable jewellery from him during a search at his home. He also claims that he lost his memory following the shock of being taken into custody at the time. "I've been dealing with al kinds of health problems since."