"At 6:36 p.m. on June 16, a Range Rover with tinted windows slowly drove down an empty side street, not far from Buckingham Palace. The driver parked directly opposite a Georgian house, positioning the back door of the car so that the passenger could enter the building by the shortest route possible."
The first person to get out of the vehicle was a former Royal Marine commando, who had started working as Nigel Farage's bodyguard after the general election.
He opened the door for an important person in the back seat.
However, it was not Farage who emerged from the vehicle - the Reform UK leader was heading north for a by-election in Makerfield - but a convicted criminal and cryptocurrency gambler, holding a thick wad of cash in his hand," writes the London Sunday Times in an extensive investigative article published last Sunday.
ST writes that it was George Swinfen Cottrell, also known as “Posh George.” This young British aristocrat and former prisoner of a US federal prison does not hold any official position at Reform UK, but for more than a decade he has been Farage’s closest adviser and travels with him around Westminster and around the country. “Their lives are so intertwined that Cottrell uses the same ex-soldier for his own protection, having paid for Farage’s security for years, away from the public eye.”
Secretiveness surrounds Cottrell, now 32, who has all but perfected the art of avoiding attention. A judge once called him a "deceiver" for legally changing his last name from "Cottrell" to "Cotrel."
Today, he travels on private jets, makes bank transfers under the name "George Co" and is one of the key players in a cryptocurrency gambling company, which is owned by a complex network of offshore companies, so that its real owner is invisible to the public.
But the most ambiguous is his relationship with Farage, whom he calls “Daddy.” The relationship is so important to the Reform UK leader that a copy of Farage’s first parliamentary speech—the final product of his multiple attempts to enter the House of Commons over three decades—is kept in one of Cottrell’s homes. The Clacton MP signed the speech in his own hand as a token of gratitude for his friend’s support, writing:
"Thank you for everything! Nigel Farage."
ST writes that Insight, its research unit, is uncovering the reason for this debt of gratitude. Their research, published alongside the podcast “Posh George: The Criminal Behind Farage” – “Posh George: The Criminal Behind Farage” – reveals a web of undeclared gifts and payments allegedly provided by Cottrell that helped pave the way for Farage to Westminster.
The paper claims that Farage broke MPs' rules by failing to report that Cottrell had funded his organisation during the year leading up to his election.
ST claims in the text that he also discovered the following:
- The leader of Reform UK received non-monetary benefits, including administrative support, private security, staff, transport and accommodation.
- Cottrell hired and paid three staff to revamp Farage's social media presence, creating content on immigration, human rights law and political correctness, as well as materials promoting Reform UK.
- Cottrell was involved in a cryptocurrency gambling platform, which has been linked to potentially illegal betting in the United Kingdom.
- Two men - a friend of Cottrell and an employee of Reform UK - owned British companies through which illicit payments originating from or intended for the platform were facilitated, even though the platform did not have a legally required British license.
- Since the election, Cottrell has allowed Farage to use a five-story house he rents in a street not far from Buckingham Palace. His lawyer said: "As a close friend, our client has allowed, and continues to allow, Mr Farage to reside in the property our client rents."
- Cottrell requested a presidential pardon in the United States, where he pleaded guilty to wire fraud.
- Cottrell acquired a property in Chelsea, London, worth £8,5m last year from billionaire Nick Candy, treasurer of Reform UK. According to UK land registry documents, the purchase price was £0. Candy said Cottrell paid him by buying shares in an offshore company registered in Guernsey, but did not specify the value of the transaction.
The code of conduct for MPs requires them to declare any benefit that others might reasonably believe could influence their actions or words in a register of interests. The “general aim” of the code is to protect democracy by maintaining the highest level of transparency.
The code states that MPs must declare all gifts, benefits and hospitality they received during the year before the election, if they are “in any way” related to their “political activities.” The exception is “purely personal” gifts, such as gifts from family members.
However, even then, the code states that “the possible motive of the giver and the manner in which the gift was used should be considered,” clarifying:
"If there is any doubt, the benefit should be reported."
Upon entering parliament, Farage declared only one benefit he received from Cottrell - £9.253,60 for travel, security and accommodation to attend a conference in Belgium - but declared nothing else.
ST writes that these omissions appear to constitute a breach of the rules. Those found to have broken the rules could face investigations, and penalties could include suspension from the House of Commons, potentially leading to a by-election.
Farage, who is 62, denies that there was any obligation to declare these benefits.
He is already being investigated by the parliamentary standards commissioner for failing to declare a £5 million gift he received from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne, which he claimed he did not have to disclose.
The Clacton MP has been a vocal supporter of cryptocurrencies ever since. He used a meeting with the Bank of England to oppose government interference in the sector, while his party published a bill called the “Crypto-Assets and Digital Finance Act”, which he claims will turn the UK into “the world’s leading cryptocurrency hub”.
Like Harborn, Cottrell could benefit from his connection to Farage. He is a cryptocurrency gambling entrepreneur with ties to offshore bookmaker Tether.bet, which uses the digital currency that Harborn co-owns, according to U.S. court documents.
Cottrell denies that he expected any benefit from his relationship with the Reform UK leader.
Cottrell is seeking a pardon from President Donald Trump, with whom Farage maintains close ties. Farage has also met with Trump's Vice President J.D. Vance on several occasions, including on Saturday (July 4).
Cottrell, who has spoken publicly about his closeness to Farage, recently founded a political consultancy firm that offers clients advice in the areas of “politics”, “campaigns” and “global business”.
It is not clear what kind of vetting, if any, Farage conducted before accepting Cottrell's help.
Farage knew that Cottrell was a convicted felon, as the two had traveled together from a Trump rally in Cleveland, Ohio, in July 2016, when Cottrell was arrested and charged with 21 felonies for his role in a scheme to launder money via the “dark web.”
He later pleaded guilty to wire fraud and spent time in prison in Arizona.
The latest ST revelations, however, show that Cottrell later became closely involved in a gambling network that appears to have provided unlicensed services in the UK, including before he began supporting Farage's private and public life.
Experts told the Sunday Times that Farage should have declared the financial support in this case. Instead, the ST claims it was uncovered in an investigation based on leaked documents, open-source intelligence and interviews with sources.
The revelations also cast doubt on Farage's claim that Harborne's £5m gift was intended to cover his security costs. In reality, Cottrell had been funding his security for months, the ST claims.
Reform UK previously said that Farage did not have to declare Cottrell's support because it preceded his announcement that he would run for parliament, so he was allegedly not a politician at the time.
According to the party's interpretation, he was a media personality and commentator at the time, and the funding did not constitute support for political activities.
A Reform UK source added that Farage almost always stayed in his own home and did not regularly use the London property.
From expulsion from school to prison
George Swinfen Cottrell was born in Gloucester Maternity Hospital in October 1993.
His mother, Lady Fiona Cottrell, was an aristocrat whose father, the third Baron Manton, inherited the family's soap-making empire. She was briefly in a relationship with Prince Charles in the 1970s, but the royal family broke off the relationship when it was revealed that she had posed nude for men's magazine Penthouse.
His father, Mark, attended Gordonstoun School, where he was the same age as Prince Andrew. Newspaper columns in the 1970s described Mark as a "Gatsby-like" figure and a "mysterious" man who refused to talk about his background.
His passions were bobsleigh, boats, and helicopter flying.
Fiona and Mark married in 1978. On their marriage certificate, they both stated that they were self-employed. Ten years later, they had a daughter and then their only son.
The family then moved to Mustique, a Caribbean island popular with celebrities and royalty, where his father devoted himself to sailing.
Cottrell was sent to boarding school as a child. He spent his teenage years at Malvern College in Worcestershire.
However, his education was abruptly cut short by his gambling addiction. At one point, he went to a bookmaker's shop carrying £50.000 in cash. He was expelled from school in 2010 for gambling, and left without passing his final exams.
Like Farage, Cottrell didn't go to college. Instead, he decided he wanted to make money.
He became a kind of middleman and financier for the richest people in Mayfair, learning how to move large amounts of money around the world in the most discreet way possible.
He thus acquired valuable skills, including expertise in the then-new areas of digital cryptocurrencies and the dark web.
In 2014, Cottrell offered anonymous drug dealers help in laundering the proceeds of their crime and converting them into bitcoin. Using the alias “Bill,” he traveled to Las Vegas to meet his clients in person.
He explained to them how he could transfer hundreds of thousands of dollars and brokered an agreement to launder $20.000 first.
This would later be the cause of his downfall. However, Kotrel had previously turned to politics.
It is difficult to determine why he was given such a high position in Farage's team at such a young age. Like many of Farage's inner circle, he had experience in finance and a ruffian but charming demeanor.
Friends, however, claim that Cottrell is not particularly politically engaged and that he may have ended up in Farage's United Kingdom Independence Party - UKIP - quite by accident.
His maternal uncle, Lord Hesketh, a nobleman with connections to Formula One motor racing, was a prominent member of UKIP.
After volunteering at the 2015 Essex by-election, Cottrell proved himself to be a talented fundraiser and an intuitive understander of Farage. He knew when his boss wanted a cigarette, a pint, some peace and quiet or a “PFL” – a “proper fucking lunch”.
His aristocratic accent, frequent claims to have a £250 million fund and willingness to pay for drinks were a source of entertainment, but he also worked tirelessly for Farage.
The two became close. Farage said Cottrell was like a son to him. One person said their relationship was more like that of master and servant.
Twenty-two-year-old Cottrell was rewarded with the position of UKIP's head of fundraising and a front-row seat to historic events in the run-up to the 2016 Brexit referendum.
He was with Farage throughout the referendum on June 23. In the nervous hours after the polls closed, he brought him cigarettes and persuaded him to go for a “proper lunch.”
While drinking dessert wine at Zafferano's in Westminster, Cottrell also spotted a business opportunity. He later claimed that he had taken an aggressive short position against the pound when it became clear that the Brexit vote had won and the value of the British currency had plummeted.
He boasted that he had made a fortune that way, only to lose it gambling the very next day.
The losses didn't seem to matter. His life was moving forward, tied to Farage's political destiny.
A month after the referendum, he traveled to Ohio, where Farage appeared at a rally with Trump, the then presidential candidate.
In front of thousands of supporters, Trump celebrated Farage as the architect of Brexit and the forerunner of the populist movement he now led.
Farage and Cottrell headed back together, via Chicago's O'Hare Airport. As they prepared to board a connecting flight, federal agents arrested Cottrell.
It turned out that when Cottrell offered his money laundering services two years earlier, he was not talking to drug dealers, but to undercover federal agents.
The Ministry of Justice reacted as soon as it was determined that he was in the country.
Cottrell was not released on bail. The judge found that his recent decision to legally change his surname from "Cottrell" to "Cotrel" was evidence of deceptive conduct.
He was placed in federal prison, where he was held alongside murderers and rapists.
The young man was suddenly left all alone. Court transcripts describe his situation in terms similar to those used to describe his mother's situation after being photographed for an erotic magazine: he was the "black sheep" and "virtually disinherited" by his family.
Farage, however, did not dismiss him. Responding to questions on a morning television programme, he said he did not know whether Cottrell was guilty and downplayed the seriousness of the allegations.
Cottrell faced a sentence of 20 years in prison, but he was lucky.
Federal agents were surprised by his sophistication considering his youth. They also believed he possessed valuable information.
Before his trial in 2017, he agreed to provide “information” about his activities. He also claimed that his intention had always been to steal money from drug dealers, not to launder it.
He reached a plea agreement with the prosecution, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, and ultimately spent only eight months in prison.
Upon returning to London in late 2017, Cottrel found himself at a turning point.
At first, he told anyone who would listen that prison had sobered him up. He claimed he would stay out of trouble and make amends with his family, including his beloved mother.
After his release, she said in an interview that her son's claims that he had a huge inheritance were “ridiculous, complete nonsense.” According to her, he was just a confused young man with a gambling problem.
The remorse didn't last long.
Cottrell began to present a new version of events to the public. He claimed that his "youth and inexperience" had been taken advantage of and that he had merely participated in a conversation with two unknown men, who turned out to be undercover agents who had framed him for the crime.
At the same time, he enjoyed the status of a “former federal prisoner,” as he presented himself on LinkedIn, and gave interviews about members of criminal gangs he met behind bars.
The tabloids also enjoyed his life story.
In late 2018, he met Georgia Toffolo, known as "Toff", the winner of the reality show "I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here".
They began a relationship during which Cottrell, like her parents half a century earlier, appeared in the gossip columns of the Daily Mail. It was written that she was “head over heels in love” with her chosen one, a “disgraced banker” and “convicted criminal”.
After a few months of dating, Kotrel made the next big move.
He moved to Montenegro.
From Mayfair to Montenegro
In Tivat, a small port town on the Adriatic coast, he combined his two passions: cryptocurrencies and gambling.
He is believed to have become one of the key players in the Tether.bet platform, an online betting and casino that allowed players to bet huge amounts on sporting and political events.
The idea was that clients could invest large sums of money - in some cases millions - either in cash or in cryptocurrencies.
As the platform's name suggested, Tether, a digital currency in which Harborn, a billionaire linked to a five million pound gift, has an ownership stake, was also accepted.
The website Tether.beta was registered just days after Farage, Cottrell and Harborne had lunch together in Mayfair.
Cottrell's decision to move to the Balkans had less to do with the warm climate and more to do with the political environment.
Governments across the Western world have sought ways to regulate digital currencies due to concerns that they facilitate crime and money laundering.
Montenegro, a country on the edge of Europe, was moving in the opposite direction. Cottrell’s arrival coincided with changes in Montenegrin politics, which saw a cryptocurrency investor appointed as finance minister (Milojko Spajić).
Tivat, where Cottrell lived, has long been one of the entry points for cigarette and cocaine smuggling, and now it has also found itself at the center of the cryptocurrency boom.
The lack of regulation in the field of cryptocurrencies and gambling was one of the key characteristics of Tether.beta's business.
In Britain, customers are often banned from betting at traditional bookmakers or are placed under strict limits on the amount they can bet.
The reasons vary. In some cases, they fail KYC, or “know your customer,” checks due to prior criminal offenses or addiction issues. In other cases, they are professional gamblers who use computer methods, making them too sophisticated and successful for most bookmakers to accept their bets.
Tether.beta's message to the gambling world was: bet with us.
Clients investing large amounts were able to take advantage of the anonymity of cryptocurrencies and high limits to make large profits.
In addition to Cottrell, two other men were associated with the platform from an early stage: David Robery, a sixty-two-year-old software expert who lived in a house next to the Cottrell family estate in Worcestershire, and Hon Kong Yong, a sixty-nine-year-old Malaysian accountant, former bankrupt entrepreneur and friend of Cottrell. Both lived in Montenegro.
The platform did not operate as a single company, but as a network of related legal entities spread across several offshore jurisdictions.
Although it had an office and bank account in Montenegro, it claimed to have a gambling license from Curacao, a Caribbean island, while the payments were processed through Cyprus.
Tether.bet officially launched in November 2020 to much media attention. The platform claimed to have accepted the world's largest political bet: $5 million on Donald Trump winning the election, with a promised payout of $25 million.
The Sun newspaper reported that a “mysterious British gambler” and “wealthy former banker” are behind the new venture, who have consulted with “people from the Trump camp.”
Tether.bet has attracted a vibrant clientele from the very beginning.
One of the clients was a dangerous man with connections to Tottenham, whose family waste management company had repeatedly come into conflict with the law.
The betting syndicate of Tony Bloom, the billionaire owner of Brighton Football Club, also used the platform. Football super agent Kia Joorabchian also invested smaller amounts.
Shortly after settling in Montenegro, Cottrell invited Farage to his new home and took him to the equestrian event "Polo in the Port", where they drank and smoked in the sun.
From a distance, Cottrell appeared to be making good progress.
He had a penthouse overlooking the Tivat Riviera, drove a Lamborghini worth £300.000, and began an on-off relationship with Anđela Vukadinović, the winner of the Miss Montenegro pageant at the time.
He organized lavish parties where, according to multiple sources, cryptocurrency investors socialized with sex workers from Eastern Europe.
Cottrel denies inviting or hosting escorts at his parties.
However, behind the facade of luxury, Cottrell was increasingly preoccupied with his own gambling via Tether.bet and was rapidly losing money.
According to court documents, he once bet £250.000 on just one match of a lower-division football competition in which Cambridge United played.
Documents filed with the High Court include the assessment of one professional gambler:
"He was not a particularly successful gambler and often lost large sums of money."
Tether.bet was not as professionally organized as it might have seemed either. Insiders claim that there was chaos behind the scenes, while customers complained that they could not withdraw their winnings.
According to High Court documents, Cottrell was under so much pressure in early 2022 that he struck a deal with billionaire Blum's gambling syndicate.
He allegedly agreed to act as their front and place bets on their behalf that they might not have been able to place directly, on the condition that they stop betting through Tether.bet.
Cottrell claims he was only a user of the site and had no other role.
The pressure was further increased by the unpredictable atmosphere of Tivat.
In the spring of 2023, police came to the Salon Privé casino, which belonged to his friend Hon Kong Jong, to inspect a potentially illegal “crypto-ATM.”
A minister then accused Cottrell of being connected to the device and of funding a candidate for prime minister who supported cryptocurrencies.
Both denied at the time, and continue to deny, any wrongdoing. No charges have been filed.
Cottrell left the country around that time, and only returned when the aforementioned candidate won, which cleared the way for his return.
Former Montenegrin Prime Minister Dritan Abazović told the Sunday Times:
"After a few months, when he saw that a new political option was coming to power, he returned."
Cottrell was distracted, under pressure and ready to take risks.
According to court documents filed last year, Cottrell began discreetly seeking out British gamblers who might be interested in using Tether.bet, including millionaires he was meeting in Mayfair.
The professional gambler who initiated the legal proceedings believed that this carried legal risks, because Tether.bet did not have a British license, and was therefore not allowed to advertise or provide services in the United Kingdom.
Anyone visiting the website could see the notification:
"Unfortunately, you are accessing from an area where service is restricted."
Cottrell is not a party to that lawsuit, but he denies many of the allegations made in it.
However, the Times claims to have discovered that as early as 2022, intermediaries were enabling wealthy British clients to bet on Tether.bet by directing them to deposit money into the accounts of two British companies.
One of them was Global G Corp Ltd, a shell company solely owned by Roberi, a family friend of Cottrell and a Tether.bet associate.
There is no evidence that the company was conducting legitimate business activities, and in 2023 it was struck off the register for failure to submit financial statements.
The other company was Fispay Ltd, owned by Mowbray Jackson, a security consultant and friend of Farage and Cottrell. Jackson now works for Reform UK as a data protection officer.
According to sources, intermediaries facilitated bets via Tether.bet by having individual clients deposit tens of thousands of pounds via bank transfer into the accounts of these companies.
The corresponding amount would then be converted into cryptocurrencies and credited to their user account on the platform.
In the event of a win, clients could receive money in cryptocurrencies or convert it into cash, which would be paid to them through the same companies.
Cottrel denies that he sought clients for Tether.bet.
Advertising or providing illegal gambling services to customers in the United Kingdom is a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment or a fine.
Disposal of proceeds of crime or money laundering is also a criminal offense, which in this case could have occurred every time British companies paid out winnings, as they represented proceeds from illegal gambling.
A source close to Jackson said he would need to seek legal advice.
A source close to Roberi denied any wrongdoing and stated that his company had never been in business.
Return of the lost son
By the spring of 2023, Farage found himself at a crossroads.
Brexit was over, and the bitter divisions caused by the referendum were a thing of the past.
He still had one foot in politics, as honorary president of Reform UK, but he also enjoyed the freedom that came with his life as a commentator and presenter on GB News television.
While the Conservative government remained vulnerable to attacks from the right, Trump announced that he would run for president again. Farage wanted to participate in that campaign as much as in any other election.
Nevertheless, he continued to consider returning to British politics.
In June, he announced that his bank had closed his account, allegedly for political reasons. He launched an independent campaign, even a website, against the “banking establishment,” which dominated the media and politics for weeks.
The campaign culminated in the departure of the CEO of NatWest Bank and reminded Farage and others of his remarkable ability to force an issue on the public, even when it has little to do with everyday politics.
In that period of new opportunities, he turned to Kotorel.
According to sources, Farage has decided to professionalize his organization, strengthen his personal brand and reach out to audiences beyond his traditional circle of supporters. This would benefit him no matter what he does next.
In September, Cottrell hired a young man who could achieve that goal: twenty-five-year-old Jack Anderton, a right-wing political activist from Liverpool.
Anderton had previously made slick videos for social media, in which he presented immigration as an issue affecting young people.
He argued that he could do the same for Farage, especially on TikTok, a platform that a third of young voters use as their main source of news.
Cottrell paid him an annual salary worth approximately £55.000.
He also paid thirty-one-year-old Tom Dupre, a British writer based in Paris who was once associated with Generation Identity, a movement described as the “hipster far right.”
Dipre created the website nigelfarageoffice.com and helped with recruitment and other administrative tasks.
Cottrell also hired a third person, Leah Thornton, who became Farage's assistant.
Cottrell's lawyers stated that "Mr. Anderton and Ms. Thornton received payments exclusively via bank transfers from accounts held solely in our client's name."
They and Reform UK denied that Dupree worked for Farage.
With Cottrell and the team behind him, Farage's online presence changed immediately.
Gone are the blurry, horizontally shot videos. They were replaced by short, dynamic content optimized for mobile phones and designed to go viral.
Farage has not only increased the amount of content, but also expanded the range of topics.
He began to present himself as more than just a former Brexiteer - as a commentator on cultural and social issues, from immigration and crime to transgender rights.
His daily videos about the "invasion" of illegal migrants crossing the English Channel, the Rishi Sunak Conservative government's reversals on zero-emission policies and the "horrible" Black Lives Matter movement have had hundreds of thousands of views.
He also continued to promote Reform UK, sharing a video featuring the party's turquoise logo and urging viewers to vote in the October by-election.
"My efforts and my work will be entirely dedicated to Richard Tice and Reform UK," he boasted in a video titled: "Reform Remains."
Farage appeared on I'm a Celebrity in December 2023, for which he was paid a fee of £1,5 million.
Cottrell helped negotiate the amount, after seeking advice from his ex-girlfriend Tofolo, who had previously won the program.
While Farage was in Australia, Anderton was in London highlighting the most interesting parts of the show and making videos that went viral.
All of this helped Farage enter the new year as one of the most popular politicians in the country and as the politician who has best mastered the ways of reaching an audience inaccessible to most MPs.
Cottrell also provided Farage with protection, which consisted mainly of elite former soldiers, as well as drivers.
He did not say how much he spent on that staff or when the payments began.
"Our client did not have time to check his documentation, but the last payment was made in the first quarter of 2024."
When the general election was called on May 22, Farage kept his supporters in suspense.
With Anderton's help, his social media accounts posted content in favor of Reform UK, branded with the party's logo, presenting the party as the only solution to "stopping the boats."
Videos posted on Instagram and TikTok criticized Labour for "betraying" voters over Brexit and called the Conservatives "charlatans."
On June 2, when the election campaign was already underway, Farage announced that he would contest Clacton, which had until then been held by the Conservatives, as the Reform UK candidate.
He immediately became the party's leader and the face of its national campaign.
Cottrell spent the following weeks with Farage, providing him with emotional support, advice, and even physical protection.
He was with him when a female protester threw a milkshake at Farage and helped him walk away from the scene of the incident.
Anderton was also with them.
In June, he moved onto the payroll of Reform UK, charging the party £4.500 for campaign services. He posted videos that led to his being described as “the mastermind behind Farage’s social media rampage”.
The Evening Standard noted that Anderton was not part of Reform UK's official election campaign team, but had been working for Farage for "months."
Numerous academic experts later concluded that Farage entered the campaign with a huge advantage on social media.
He had 625.000 followers on his personal TikTok account, while opponents like Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer did not even have profiles.
Farage made the most of this advantage and achieved more interactions with users than all political parties combined.
At the same time, he continued to depend on Cottrell in other ways.
Around this time, Cottrell began renting a residential property near Buckingham Palace, just a thirty-second walk from Reform UK's temporary election headquarters.
The five-story Georgian house served as Farage's "central London refuge" and a place where he could stay when he was unable to go to his homes in Kent and Essex.
It is an extremely luxurious villa, which has been thoroughly renovated by its current owner. According to land registry documents, the owner bought it for more than four million pounds, and today it could be worth significantly more.
Cottrell is believed to be paying tens of thousands of pounds a month for rent.
Farage was elected on July 4, convincingly defeating the incumbent Conservative MP and entering parliament for the first time.
From that point on, he had four weeks to report all the free “benefits” he had received during the previous 12 months.
According to the code of conduct, this includes anything worth more than £300 and that is clearly not a "purely personal" gift, such as a gift from a friend or family member.
He reported only one form of Cottrell support: an estimated cost of £9.253,60 for airfare, hotel accommodation for himself and one staff member, and security during a conference in Belgium, held a few weeks earlier.
It seems that Farage continued to rely on Cottrell after that, writes ST.
According to sources and neighbors, he still uses the London property.
Sources from Reform UK have acknowledged that Farage has a standing invitation to stay at the house, but claim that he does not have to register this as it is a purely private relationship.
Cottrell's affairs, meanwhile, remained closely linked to Farage.
He returned home two weeks ago accompanied by a former marine whose identity we are not publishing. The man was with Farage during the campaign in Sussex in the run-up to the local elections, and then with Cottrell in central London.
Reform UK said the former soldier no longer works for the party and that his private arrangements were his own business.
Farage revealed only two payments linked to Cottrell over the past year.
One related to £15.200 for his flight to a Trump fundraiser in Florida last year. Farage reported the payment late and only after questions from the Sunday Times.
The second payment did not come from George himself, but from his mother Fiona.
In June last year, the Electoral Commission announced that she had donated £750.000 to the party, making her one of its biggest donors.
The Times says it has obtained legal documents from 2023 in which she described herself as a "retired stylist."
The same documents show that, after her husband's death that year, his estate - which Fiona managed - was valued at £1,5 million.
The Election Commission refused to release the payment documentation.
When reporters from The Sunday Times visited her at her home in rural Worcester, she said "no comment" before they could ask questions, it says.
Cottrell continued to benefit from his relationship with Farage.
For a man whose wealth comes from cryptocurrencies, it would be hard to find a more vocal advocate than Farage, who has lobbied vigorously on behalf of the sector.
This included a recent face-to-face meeting with the Governor of the Bank of England, who Farage urged to keep the state out of the cryptocurrency industry.
However, the benefit could be more immediate.
In late 2023, Nick Candy, honorary treasurer of Reform UK, put a house in Chelsea up for sale for £8,5 million.
Since the house didn't sell, Candy did something else.
According to legal documents obtained by The Times, he handed it over to Kotorel.
The transfer documentation shows that the property changed hands “without consideration.” The stated purchase price was zero pounds.
Candy said it was not a gift. According to him, Cottrell became the beneficial owner of the property by purchasing shares in its parent company, registered in Guernsey, and settling a loan that the company owed to the Candy Group.
This, however, does not seem to be in line with the documents which state that the company no longer owns the property, but rather that it belongs to Kotorel.
Neither Cottrell nor Candy would say how much Cottrell paid.
If Cottrell's lobbying for Trump's pardon bears fruit, he could travel to the United States again and put his crimes behind him once and for all.
It is believed that he is determined to draw a line under that period of his life.
He recently co-authored the book "How to Launder Money," which he claimed was a guide for law enforcement agencies to prevent the methods he had come across.
According to reports, Farage attended the book launch at the Old War Office building, a luxury five-star hotel opposite Downing Street.
In an attempt to build a new image, Cottrell also founded a political consulting firm that claims to offer advice on campaigns, public opinion research and strategy.
The motto on its website is:
"Reputation is built brick by brick."
Reform UK said:
"It is no surprise that the Sunday Times has chosen to publish this baseless and fabricated story, which relates to a period when Nigel Farage was not even an active politician, let alone an elected representative, given that the newspaper supported the Labour Party in the previous general election.
Contrary to the tone of the text, no parliamentary rules were violated.
We also understand that the Sunday Times is promoting a new podcast, which it seems very excited about. Its agenda should be obvious to all."
(Farage resigned as MP for Clacton last week to avoid a parliamentary investigation into alleged earlier illegal donations and following last week's Sunday Times report. The resignation triggered a snap election in Clacton, for which only Farage and satirist "Count Binface" have so far registered, while Labour and the Conservatives have announced they will not field a candidate.)
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