UK crypto firm Copper pictured hosting party with nude sushi servers
UK crypto firm Copper, which is chaired by the country’s former chancellor Sir Phillip Hammond, has raised eyebrows after hosting a private dinner party at a luxury London hotel that served guests sushi on two partly naked models.
Copper invited guests to the crypto conference after-party at the five-star Mandrake Hotel last week and promised that “Attendees will be able to entertain and explore all five senses,” and “Transcend the ordinary at the Copper experience.”
The Financial Times obtained a picture of the event during which one male and one female model, seemingly dressed in thin bodysuits, can be seen semi-naked serving sushi off their bodies.
The event is reminiscent of nyotaimori, an old Japanese custom where sushi is served to guests from the bodies of laid-down naked women.
Crypto dinner party more ‘art’ than ‘seedy’
A person close to Copper told the Financial Times the dinner party was “a lot of razzle-dazzle . . . more performative art than anything seedy.” They said the models were “wearing swimming costumes,” and that Copper’s chairman, Hammond, didn’t attend.
In addition, a Copper spokesperson told the Financial Times, “As part of our sponsorship of the Digital Assets Summit 2024, we jointly hosted an after-party held at the Mandrake Hotel.” It said the event “was organized by a third-party event planner and open to all delegates as part of the conference.”
Read more: Russian oligarch evaded sanctions in UK crypto firm share sell-off, report
Copper offers various financial entities the ability to trade crypto on exchanges. It was founded by Dmitry Tokarev in 2018 and has been chaired by Hammond since 2023.
The firm was reported to have sent $4.2 million worth of ETH to Jonatan Zimenkov, a member of a Russian arms dealing network controlled by his father. In addition, Copper has been accused of acting as an intermediary in a shares sale to help a Russian oligarch skirt US sanctions.
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