Guests at a party for a cryptocurrency company chaired by Lord Philip Hammond were served sushi off scantily clad models, a shocking leaked picture shows.
The image shows a group of men in the red-lacquered room at the five-star Mandrake hotel in central London, with a partially naked man and woman lying motionless on the table in front of them.
A board had been placed on each of their stomachs while each had a pillow under their heads. Each appeared to be wearing a thin bodysuit.
The former Chancellor of the Exchequer, 68, did not attend the private event held by Copper, a company which stores digital assets for its customers.
The man and woman were said to be ‘wearing swimming costumes’, a source close to Copper told the Financial Times.
They added that the event had ‘a lot of razzle dazzle . . . more performative art rather than anything seedy.’
The after-party came at the end of a large crypto industry conference in the capital.
The event played out in the hotel’s 20-seater private dining room with the background of a huge champagne fridge. The hotel says the room is ‘Ideal for private gatherings, meetings, private dinners and events.’
An invitation for the after-party, seen by the financial paper, said that it would ‘Transcend the ordinary at the Copper experience.’ It continued: ‘Attendees will be able to entertain and explore all five senses.’
Lord Hammond was made chair of Copper Technologies in 2023, having previously worked for the company as an advisor.
The firm builds and manages digital systems for companies that want to invest in, trade or use cryptocurrency.
‘As part of our sponsorship of the Digital Assets Summit 2024, we jointly hosted an after-party held at the Mandrake Hotel,’ Copper told the FT.
It added that the night ‘was organised by a third-party event planner and open to all delegates as part of the conference’.
After joining the firm in 2021, Lord Hammond said that the joining of the worlds of traditional and decentralised finance was ‘going to happen’.
‘Most institutions know that whether we like it or don’t like it – it is going to happen,’ he told CityAM.
‘It’s not something anybody running a major business in financial services can hide from.’
Copper, Lord Hammond and the Mandrake Hotel have been contacted for comment.
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