New UK Election Funding Rules Could Hit Reform's Crypto Billionaire Donors
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The UK government has announced a fresh crackdown on foreign money in politics, and the new rules could squeeze the crypto billionaires who have bankrolled Nigel Farage's Reform UK.
Key facts
Farage, already under investigation over an undeclared £5 million ($6.7 million) gift from Harborne, denies the Cottrell benefits needed declaring, and Cottrell denies having expected anything
Ben Delo, the Hong Kong-based co-founder of the BitMEX exchange, has donated some £4 million to Reform
Liberal Democrat MP Josh Babarinde has written to the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner calling for an investigation into Farage's "failure to declare financial support" from Cottrell
Unveiled Monday, the measures extend a £100,000 cap on overseas donations, in force since March, so that it also covers a donor's first year of UK residency—meaning someone cannot simply relocate
Summary
The UK government has unveiled new rules to curb foreign money in elections, including a cap on donations from people in their first year of UK residency and stricter tests on company donors. The measures build on a March ban on crypto donations and could squeeze Nigel Farage's Reform UK, which has leaned heavily on crypto billionaires Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo. Harborne has registered to vote in the UK, while Delo has stated his intention to do so. Unveiled Monday, the measures extend a £100,000 cap on overseas donations, in force since March, so that it also covers a donor's first year of UK residency—meaning someone cannot simply relocate to Britain and immediately write a larger check.