Volkswagen threw orgies for German MPs, union officials

Auto Giant Volkswagen (VW) is in a midst of a major scandal after it was revealed that it had organised sex orgies for German politicians and union leaders.

London, May 31 : Auto Giant Volkswagen (VW) is in a midst of a major scandal after it was revealed that it had organised sex orgies for German politicians and union leaders.

According to The Sun, a German MP -- Hans-Juergen Uhl -- has resigned from the German Parliament (Bundestag) after perjuring himself in sworn affidavits, saying that he did not participate in the orgies. Left-winger Uhl is said to have perjured himself five times.

VW bosses are said to have organised these events to get the unions to agree to changes in working conditions.

Uhl also faces charges of illegally accepting VW entertainment, which includes participation in at least one sex party at a Hanover nightclub called Sexworld in 1999.

The scandal has triggered national soul-searching over Germany's system of corporate governance - and its vulnerability to serious abuse.

From 1990 to 2006, Uhl was on the works council at VW in Wolfsburg, the powerful committees that sit alongside management in German firms with the aim of keeping the wheels of industry turning smoothly.

Their agreement is needed for important decisions. They are responsible for supervising the implementation of the unions' collective agreements in the workplace.

Uhl, 55, represented the powerful IG Metall Union at VW. While VW management paid lip service to this way of doing business, it sought to weaken the unions' clout with a honey trap - luring officials into compromising situations.

The plot was hatched around 1990 by a senior group of management with access to huge unaccountable sums of money. VW was suffering from high wages, low productivity and increasing competition. It wanted to push through harsh restructuring plans which it knew would founder from the start if put to the representatives of the workers. So it set about "pandering to the desires of the brothers to live like the bosses".

In June 2005 the scheme fell apart. The unravelling began with allegations of bribes from potential suppliers but quickly widened to include claims about flying around prostitutes and sex parties financed with company funds.

Prosecutors allege some 1.2million pounds had been paid in bribes over nine years from Peter Hartz, the company's personnel head, to the company'sworks council chief Klaus Volkert.

The illicit payments were used by Volkert to fund lavish trips for shop stewards with prostitutes, parties, and luxury hotels in Brazil and Lisbon - all disguised as business expenses.

Some 280,000 pounds is said to have gone on Volkert's Brazilian lover, Adriana Barros, along with jewellery and furs.

Hartz escaped jail by admitting his part in the affair at his trial in January. The court heard how he lavished the illegal bonuses on Volkert because management wanted union acceptance to changes of work practice.

Hartz was hit with a 500,000-pound fine and thought he had escaped with a shred of dignity. For in return for his confession his favourite prostitute, a Brazilian named Joselia, was not called as a witness to tell all she knew.

Charges of paying her and women were dropped in return for his co-operation. But it did not stop Joselia from speaking out.

The fees for their affair came out of a 500,000 -pound slush fund provided by VW and managed by "Klaus" - alleged to be Klaus-Joachim Gebauer, a VW fixer.

Prosecutors say the union reps and middle management on these sex junkets were slipped Viagra tablets to assist their performances.

Uhl was present at the at Sexworld party at which VW paid for an all-night champagne and prostitute-filled romp for workers' council directors.

He is also accused of being an accessory to breach of trust over his alleged participation at parties in Barcelona and Seoul in 2001.

He is not the biggest fish or the last to be caught in the nets of prosecutors. Gebauer will face 40 charges of fraud and incitement to fraud, Volkert 49 charges.

Many other union and management figures are still under investigation in the scandal that is keeping Germany riveted.

ANI