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As awkward explanations go, the one given for Dominique Strauss-Kahn's alleged involvement with a French prostitution ring may have set the bar lower than ever before. During a recent radio interview, Strauss-Kahn's lawyer acknowledged that his client did indeed participate in an orgy at the upscale Carlton hotel in Lille, France, but stressed that he could not have known the women were prostitutes. "People are not always clothed at these parties," said Henri Leclerc. "I defy you to tell the difference between a nude prostitute and a classy lady in the nude."
The sensational case, dubbed the "Carlton affair" by French newspapers, is merely the latest sex scandal to envelop the former head of the International Monetary Fund, who lost his job after being accused of sexually assaulting a New York hotel maid last year (the charges were later dropped). It's also the most recent example of a company - in this case a French construction firm - being accused of improperly using corporate funds to throw so-called "sex parties" for employees and clients. In fact, some experts say using sex to grease the wheels of commerce is far more common than most people think - even in a relatively conservative country like Canada. "We like to paint ourselves as better than other countries," says Al Rosen of Toronto-based forensic accounting firm Rosen & Associates. "But we're absolutely not."
