Nathaniel Rothschild says sauna with Lord Mandelson was purely pleasure, not business

"Lord Mandelson visited a sauna in Siberia with a Russian oligarch and Nathaniel Rothschild, one of Britain's richest men, where they were thrashed with birch leaves and plunged into an ice bath together, the High Court heard yesterday...

Lord Mandelson travelled to the region on Jan 30, 2005 as a guest of Mr. Rothschild, scion of the banking dynasty, and Oleg Deripaska, the billionaire owner of Russia's biggest aluminium plant. Also present was Peter Munk, a Canadian gold magnate, and Sebastian Taylor, a friend of Mr Rothschild...

Lord Mandelson flew to Russia on Mr Rothschild's private jet after meeting him at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland... [The group] took Mr Deripaska's private jet to Abakan in Siberia, where he has business interests and a vast estate...

Mr Rothschild said: "The whole point of the Siberia trip was that we went there, spent a nanosecond at the [aluminium] smelter, we then went to the most delightful banya. We were beaten by a 25-year-old banya keeper man, who has spent his life perfecting the art of banya. Then we jumped into ice-cold water. It is the best way in the world to beat jet lag and everything else. It was incredibly enjoyable. Everyone woke up the next day feeling revitalised and excited about the day."

-- London Telegraph

Lord Mandelson was Britain's European Commissioner for Trade at the time of this little "pleasure trip". According to the Pink News, he's a homosexual who considers himself a role model for other politicians to emulate. I'm sure the oligarchs would agree.

Mining industry billionaires Rothschild, Munk and Deripaska are also partners in the exclusive "Porto Montenegro" yacht club project. All of them, including Lord Mandelson, were guests at Rothschild's multi-million dollar birthday bash held there last summer.

However, servants like Mandelson would do well to take a lesson from poor Saif Gaddafi, who had his own lavish birthday party in Montenegro in 2009. A graduate of the London School of Economics with a Ph.D. in global governance, he was once groomed and entertained by these same "friends" -- just before the brutal overthrow and sacking of his family fiefdom.

UPDATE: Nat Rothschild sued the Daily Mail over their reporting of this story, but the court rejected his claim for damages. The paper has now printed another story, with photos.