The seized proceeds of sex crime should go directly towards rehabilitating prostitutes rather than paying for sports centres, it has been claimed.
Margo MacDonald MSP spoke of the need to reform proceeds of crime laws following the conviction of a wealthy businesswoman and her associates who had been running a brothel in Edinburgh
She said some of Margaret Paterson's criminal earnings should go towards helping women away from vice through rehabilitation and education.
Paterson and Robert Munro, both 61, were this week found guilty of living off immoral earnings, with the High Court in Edinburgh hearing they had operated a brothel and a nationwide escort business from a house in the west end of the capital.
Ms MacDonald said that helping sex workers should be a priority when redistributing such proceeds of crime.
Ms MacDonald, the independent MSP for Lothian, said: "The truth is that competing with funds for a young boys' football charity or a Girl Guide-like project, a project that supports sex workers wouldn't come high up the list.
"So if there is money obtained by the authorities of the proceeds of crime, and in this case the crime is prostitution, I would like to see a special fund that would be used to educate the women who are working in the sex industry and help them exit if they want to."
Her comments come after Edinburgh's saunas were raided by police as the new single Scottish force comes under scrutiny for apparent regional variations in approaches to the sex trade.
She added wider vice laws need to be updated as "there is a lot more widespread participation than people realise".
The trial heard that Paterson and Munro provided prostitutes for customers all over Scotland.
Ian Goalen, 59, pled guilty to living off the earnings of prostitution at the same court on Monday and gave evidence against his former colleagues, Munro and Paterson.
Goalen, an ex-bank manager, ferried women to and from jobs. Further details emerged from the trial of his relationship with a night manager at the George Hotel, who would call for escorts for guests.
The three are awaiting sentence after Monday's case. Evidence showed Paterson had spent £461,604 in some of Edinburgh's most exclusive shops, with detectives finding credit card records which detailed the purchase of luxury items from Harvey Nichols, Louis Vuitton and Mulberry. Officers who searched Paterson's home found £204,660 in cash.
The uncovering of the Edinburgh escort empire, seen by some as the more "high society" end of the prostitution trade, shows the need for a change in Scotland's approach to how it tackles vice, Ms MacDonald said.
Since 2003, the use of the Proceeds of Crime Act in Scotland has led to £80 million being recovered from convicted criminals. Money recovered under the Proceeds of Crime Act is invested by Scottish Ministers, with more than £50m spent on a range of sporting, cultural, educational and mentoring activities for children and young people through the CashBack for Communities programme.
Since the programme's inception in 2007, more than 600,000 young people across Scotland have benefited, the Crown Office said.
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