Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1002137
5 NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 8 JULY 2018 on Friday night where he was in critical condition, and was immediately oper- ated upon to save his life, after he lost large quantities of blood. His condition stabilised after the surgical intervention, sources told MaltaToday. MaltaToday is informed that Chetcuti spoke to investigating officers at Mater Dei, describing to them the attempt. The entrepreneur has claimed that he had stepped out into the alley outside his latest establishment, when he was approached by his aggressor. Chetcuti has told police that the man hugged him before stabbing him in the stomach and running away. At 7pm yesterday evening, Chetcuti's partner Kseniya Yashchenko reported on Facebook that Chetcuti was "feeling much better". What observers will ques- tion is the level of security that someone like Chetcuti, a ma- jor employer in the St Julian's entertainment district, will require. Chetcuti has flaunted his wealth on social media, usually displaying photos of his cars (his most recent acqui- sition was a Rolls-Royce), and has used his multi-million Vil- la Isis in Madliena as the scene of his personalised ALS Ice Bucket Chal- lenge video, where girls from his lap- dancing club Steam were cast as 'extras'. 'King of Paceville' Much of Hugo Chetcuti's life is played out in the shadow of his growing busi- ness empire, which started out with a small club in Paceville, and which has now expanded to a string of restaurants, clubs, and hotels. Chetcuti set foot in Paceville three dec- ades ago with his initial acquisition of the Footloose bar, and since then founded a success of lucrative bars, clubs and res- taurants billed with his 'Hugo's' brand. Today he uses the ubiquity of his im- age and name to brand his hospital- ity chain and uses his social media to promote his life of luxury. He recently embarked on a €5 million bond issue to finance his latest addition to his business empire. Chetcuti has owned a string of estab- lishments in Paceville since the 1990s, and is today the main driver of the HH Group, which plans to expand further into hospitality. He roped in the former Bank of Valletta chief executive officer Tonio Depasquale as well as former MI- DI CEO Ben Muscat as independent di- rectors of his finance group. His recent acquisition of the former Bernard Hotel, now a 200-room hotel in the St George's Bay area of Paceville marks Chetcuti's coming-of-age in the hospitality industry. Chetcuti plans to use the €5 million bond proceeds to part-finance the debt accumulated from the acquisition of the hotel, acquired for €35 million but now valued at €55 million. Chetcuti is the owner of 26 different companies, most of them dealing with the entertainment industry. Reporting by Yannick Pace, Karl Azzo- pardi, Massimo Costa and Matthew Vella Serbian national Bojan Cmelik, 35, was charged with the attempted murder of the Paceville impresario (right) with partner Kseniya Yashchenko WATCH ONLINE Video of the arrest of Bojan Cmelik by RIU officers at this link: https://goo.gl/zdkC6a Serious real estate: Hugo Chetcuti's hotel and underlying restaurants