- Party receives $97M from 2 cryptocurrency billionaires as government seeks tighter rules on overseas funding
- Proposed $135,000 annual cap would apply retrospectively from March 25 and cover Britons living abroad and recent returnees
Reform UK is facing renewed scrutiny over its finances as a police investigation into alleged breaches of political funding laws and government plans to tighten donation rules put the far-right party under pressure.
An undercover broadcast that appeared to show two senior Reform aides discussing ways to circumvent restrictions on foreign donations has widened the controversy, prompting their suspension and further police inquiries.
Meanwhile, large contributions from cryptocurrency billionaires have fueled debate over overseas funding as ministers seek restrictions that would apply retrospectively. Party leader Nigel Farage insists the donations comply with current law.
Farage also faces a separate parliamentary standards inquiry into an undeclared personal gift received before he became an MP in 2024. He has denied wrongdoing, while Reform says it will fully cooperate with the police investigation.
Here is a look at the donations, the proposed legal changes and the investigations.
Why are the latest donations controversial?
Last week, Reform UK received two donations of £36 million ($48.5 million) each from cryptocurrency billionaires Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne, totaling £72 million.
According to the BBC, the contributions are the largest individual donations to a UK political party since reporting requirements began in 2001.
Farage said the donations were “100% compliant with the law today,” but did not say whether they would be permissible under proposed rule changes.
In March, the government announced plans for a £100,000 annual cap on donations from British citizens living overseas, with retrospective effect from March 25. In July, ministers added that they wanted the cap to continue applying for at least 12 months after donors return to Britain.
The legislation is still working its way through parliament. Under current rules, British citizens living abroad can make unlimited donations to political parties, provided they are registered on a UK electoral register.
Farage has criticized the government’s attempts to retrospectively make some donations impermissible.
In April, Delo told The Telegraph that he was moving back to the UK to increase his support for Reform and “build a war chest” for Farage to fight the next election.
Harborne, a British businessman based in Thailand, matched Delo’s record contribution less than two days after it was announced.
Together, the donations exceed the amount either Labour or the Conservatives spent campaigning in the 2024 general election, according to Electoral Commission figures.
Undercover broadcast, police investigation
The latest controversy over foreign funding follows an investigation by Channel 4 News and Verbatim Investigations broadcast earlier this month.
The footage appeared to show Farage’s senior aide Dan Jukes and Reform’s head of policy, James Orr, discussing ways to circumvent electoral law to secure foreign funding.
Jukes met an undercover reporter posing as the UK-based son of a wealthy American financier. The reporter expressed concern that his father could not legally donate directly to Reform.
The discussions included a potential £500,000 contribution. Both officials stepped down following the broadcast.
Under UK electoral law, permissible donors include individuals registered on a UK electoral register and UK-registered companies that carry out business in the country.
Last week, the Metropolitan Police said they had widened a criminal investigation following the allegations.
Police said they had received “a number of reports relating to donations and polling involving a political party,” according to the BBC.
A Reform spokesman said the party “denies any wrongdoing and will fully cooperate with the investigation.”
In July, reports revealed that Farage’s aide George Cottrell and his mother, Fiona Cottrell, had also been interviewed under criminal caution by Metropolitan Police detectives last year over suspected evasion of restrictions involving donations made in May 2024.
That investigation followed a referral from the Electoral Commission.
Farage’s personal gift
Separate scrutiny of Farage’s finances intensified after it emerged that he had received a personal £5 million ($6.7 million) gift from Harborne in early 2024, shortly before announcing his intention to run in that year’s general election.
The Guardian first reported the gift in April. Farage later acknowledged receiving it but said he was under “no obligation” to declare it because it had been given before he became an MP.
In May, reports said the parliamentary standards commissioner had opened an inquiry into whether Farage breached Commons rules by failing to declare the gift.
According to the Institute for Government, lawmakers in the UK are allowed to accept gifts from donors, but they are meant to declare any gifts or benefits above £300 in value if they are received in their capacity as a lawmaker, as well as any other financial interests that "might reasonably be thought to influence their actions, speeches or votes in parliament."
They can only receive gifts worth more than £500 if it’s from a "permissible source," which includes individuals on a UK electoral register, local registered companies and some organizations.
Amid the scrutiny, Farage resigned as MP for Clacton in July and announced he would contest the resulting by-election.
In a video statement, he said the vote would become a “people vs establishment” election, calling on voters to judge his conduct.
“I repeat, I have done nothing wrong,” he said.
Farage regained his seat last month in the unusual by-election that other major political parties did not contest.
The parliamentary investigation into the gift resumed hours after his victory, according to the House of Commons website.
