Farage: Millions are the reward for Brexit

Nigel Farage, leader of the British right-wing Reform UK party, said yesterday that a donation of five million pounds, or 5,78 million euros, which he received from a cryptocurrency billionaire before entering parliament was a "reward for the Brexit campaign."

Farage, as reported by Reuters, is being investigated by the parliamentary standards watchdog over whether he should have declared the money after he was elected in 2024, although he claims it was an unconditional gift and is therefore exempt from the rules.

Farage previously said he accepted a donation from crypto investor Christopher Harborne, who lives in Thailand, to pay for personal security before announcing his candidacy in the 2024 national election.

In a video interview with The Sun published on Thursday, Farage - who was one of the influential campaigners in the 2016 referendum that led to Britain's exit from the European Union - said he was "not at all concerned" by the parliamentary inquiry.

"It was given to me without any conditions - completely unconditional - but, frankly, it was given as a reward for 27 years of campaigning for Brexit," Farage said.

Farage's anti-immigration party, the biggest winner in last week's local elections, said on Wednesday it was talking to the parliamentary standards commissioner about the donation and said no rules had been broken.

The commissioner's website confirmed that Farage was being investigated for possible "failure to declare an interest", without further explanation.

"No one can buy me"

The Reform UK party has been at the top of all national opinion polls since the beginning of last year, which is why Farage is mentioned as a possible future prime minister after the 2029 election, and his party's funding sources have come under increased scrutiny.

The Guardian previously reported that Harborne has given Farage's political party more than £22m over the past seven years. That accounts for two-thirds of all funding received by Reform UK, making it uniquely dependent on a single donor among British parties.

Before the 2024 election, Farage said he had no intention of running. He changed his mind about a month before the vote.

Asked if money played any role in his decision to run in the 2024 election, Farage said: “Nobody can buy me.”

Rival political parties accused him in April of violating rules, which require lawmakers to declare donations received in the year before the election within a month of taking office.

The Guardian reported that Farage bought a property worth around €1,62 million in cash, shortly after receiving a generous gift from Harborne.

When asked about the purchase of the property, which is located outside London, a Reform UK spokesperson said that “the process of bidding for and purchasing the property began before the gift was made.” “Farage had already provided proof of funds and completed the appropriate checks before accepting the gift. The purchase was therefore already independent of him,” the statement said.

The property has been the subject of multiple applications for expansion and redevelopment, all of which have now been approved, since he bought it in 2024. It is one of four properties owned by Farage, while his partner owns a fifth, which he uses in his Clacton constituency.

Opponents argue that funding from foreign billionaires confirms the gap between Farage's self-image as a man of the people ready to stand up to the British establishment and his dependence on wealthy donors.

If the investigation finds that Farage committed a serious breach of parliamentary rules on declaring interests, he could be suspended from the House of Commons for a period of time. A suspension of 10 days or more could trigger a petition for impeachment, potentially forcing him to stand again in a by-election for his seat.

The "reclusive billionaire" who got rich from cryptocurrencies

Christopher Harborn is, his lawyers say, “an extremely private person.” He has not publicly explained his reasons for donating to Farage and his party. One 21st-century technology in particular has boosted Harborn’s fortune: cryptocurrencies. He was, according to The Guardian, an early buyer of the digital tokens that have skyrocketed in value. He is also one of half a dozen enigmatic tech tycoons who own Tether, the company that issues the most widely traded cryptocurrency.

Registered in the Central American dictatorship of El Salvador, with a small staff, Tether has been described as the most profitable company per employee in history. It has issued $184 billion worth of digital currency, known as stablecoins. They have become popular as a way to move money across borders and in countries where inflation is eroding the value of local currencies. However, billions of Tether stablecoins have also been known to be used for illicit purposes - by criminal groups, fraudsters, North Korean hackers and others who would rather avoid the checks associated with moving money through a bank.