Prostitute-filled sex party was reward for German insurance salesmen

Munich Re insurance giant admits 'incentive trip' to Budapest's Gellert Baths was a sex junket

A German insurance firm has admitted rewarding its 100 best salesmen
with a prostitute-filled "sex party" in Budapest's most famous thermal
baths.

Hamburg-Mannheimer International (HMI), now part of the
huge Munich Re insurance conglomerate, rented out the historic Gellert
Baths in the Hungarian capital and turned it into an "open-air brothel",
where it let staff run riot.

At least 20 prostitutes were hired
by HMI top brass for the so-called "incentive trip". According to those
present, the women were colour-coded to indicate which men were allowed
to have sex with them. Those wearing white ribbons were reserved for
"the very best salespeople and executives", said one HMI employee.

After
an investigation printed in the German newspaper Handelsblatt, Munich
Re has admitted that the party – described in one German magazine as
"Bunga-Bunga in Budapest" – did occur.

"It is true that in June
2007 an incentive trip took place in Budapest. Our research has
discovered that during an evening event during this trip, around 20
prostitutes were present," said a spokesman for Ergo, a life insurance
arm of Munich Re that took over HMI some time after the party took
place.

The Handelsblatt newspaper has gathered sworn statements from a number of HMI employees who attended the party.

"At
the entrance, I and other participants were searched, like at security
controls at an airport," said one witness. The HMI boss told everyone it
was "strictly forbidden" to take photos or video the event, he added.

According
to a signed affidavit from another employee: "The ladies came up to us
and showed us what they had. It was clear to everyone there that they
were hookers."