Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, has been reported by The Guardian to have received approximately £5 million (around $6.7 million) from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne before declaring his candidacy for the Clacton seat in 2024. This disclosure prompted the Conservative Party to refer him to the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner, while Labour accused him of violating House of Commons rules.
Farage confirmed receiving the donation during a Daily Telegraph interview, stating it was intended to ensure his security following an attack with a milkshake in 2019 and a firebomb incident at his home previously. Harborne, who owns a 12% stake in Tether and is based in Thailand, made this payment in 2024. Farage announced his candidacy for Clacton early last June and secured the seat by July.
A Reform UK spokesperson described the transaction as a “personal unconditional gift” provided before Farage’s election, asserting that his decision to run was unrelated to the donation. The spokesperson affirmed compliance with all relevant regulations, noting that the Commons code of conduct requires MPs to register any benefits received in the 12 months prior to their election unless clearly personal.
The Conservative Party has requested an investigation by Parliamentary Standards Commissioner Daniel Greenberg into whether any part of the funds was used for political activities instead of security. Labour’s Anna Turley accused Farage of again breaking rules.
Late last year, Harborne also contributed £9 million (approximately $12 million) to Reform UK, marking the largest donation from a living person to a U.K. party on record. Earlier this month, Ben Delo, co-founder of BitMEX, disclosed in an op-ed his £4 million ($5.1 million) contribution to Reform since the start of the year.
Following these events, the U.K. government imposed a moratorium on crypto donations to political parties in March, following warnings from the Rycroft review about potential foreign money inflows through digital assets into British politics. This ban applies to all donation sizes and will be legislated under the Representation of the People Bill, with penalties for violations.
In addition, Farage invested £215,000 ($286,000) in Stack BTC, a London-listed bitcoin company chaired by former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, acquiring a 6.31% stake via his investment firm Thorn In The Side earlier this month.