In the United Kingdom, Reform UK Chairman Nigel Farage received financial support worth approximately £5 million ($6.7 million) from cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne shortly before his election campaign. This transfer took place before he announced his candidacy for Clacton MP in June 2024. Farage announced that he received this gift, which caused public controversy, to live “safely and peacefully” after a milk drink was thrown on him in 2019 and his house was attacked last year.
Personal gift from Harborne
Christopher Harborne stands out as a businessman who lives in Thailand and has significant investments in the cryptocurrency industry. In particular, it owns a 12 percent stake in the world-renowned stablecoin issuer Tether. It was stated that the payment made by Harborne to Farage was a completely “unconditional and personal gift” before he participated in the election. Reform UK official stated that this aid had nothing to do with Farage’s reason for becoming a parliamentary candidate, and that all declaration processes were completed in accordance with the legislation.
In the statement made by Reform UK, “The support received was given as a personal gift to Nigel Farage before he was elected and has no connection with his candidacy for parliament. We are confident that all processes were carried out in accordance with the rules.” statements were included.
By UK public standards, an MP is required to record all financial benefits they have received in the last 12 months. One of the focal points of the discussion was whether this high amount of payment could be considered within the scope of the “personal gift” exemption. Farage and his party pointed out that the gift was only for personal security and welfare, not any political activity.
Increasing pressure in the political arena
After Farage received this gift, the Conservative Party took the situation to Parliamentary Standards Commissioner Daniel Greenberg and asked for an investigation into whether the payment had political purposes. Criticism came from the main opposition Labor Party that Farage violated the regulations again. At the center of political debate is the question of how much of the fund is spent on security and how much on politics.
Christopher Harborne also came to the fore with another donation of £9 million to Reform UK in the last year. This amount was recorded as the largest single donation made by a living person to a political party in the United Kingdom. Similarly, Ben Delo, co-founder of BitMEX, one of the important names in the cryptocurrency world, has provided £4 million of support to Reform UK since the beginning of the year.
Bans on crypto donations
In March 2024, the UK government temporarily stopped cryptocurrency donations to political parties altogether. The Rycroft report, which is the basis of this decision, drew attention to the risk that foreign capital could enter into circulation in the country’s politics through digital assets. The new regulation covers crypto donations of any amount, and this ban will be added to the Electoral Representation Law. Penal sanctions are also foreseen for those who violate the rule.
In the same month, Nigel Farage invested 215 thousand pounds in the Bitcoin fund company called Stack BTC, which is traded on the London Stock Exchange and is chaired by former Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng, and received a 6.31 percent share. He made the investment through his own investment company.
