A Bulebel-based clothing factory embroiled in a human trafficking and worker exploitation scandal has shut down and its assets have been put up for sale. 

Leisure Clothing manufactured women’s clothing for a range of high-end high street brands including Emporio Armani, Jaeger, Hobbs and Karen Millen. The factory, which had been running for close to 30 years, produced 20,000 garments a month and had a turnover of €5 million. 

The factory's Chinese parent company, Chong Qing-based CICET, has now tasked UK valuer Eddisons with selling off the facility's assets. These include hundreds of industrial sewing machines, pressing equipment, CNC laying out tables as well as over 5,000 ladies garments, raw material and a fleet of eight vehicles.

Eddisons director of machinery and business assets Jason Pinder said the equipment up for grabs was of "extremely high quality" and that the company was "looking for a purchaser for the entire collection or significant parts of it."

Leisure Clothing made headlines for all the wrong reasons in 2014 after police raided the factory and accused its director of having exploited hundreds of workers. 

The investigation led to a magisterial inquiry, with Chinese and Vietnamese workers testifying that they had been fed "inedible" food and lured into coming to Malta with the promise of high wages.

A court heard that while employees were paid €70 a month for six 14-hour days per week, managing director Han Bin received a performance bonus of €30,000 a year.