FOLLOW THE MONEY: Nigel Farage, Reform UK and the Billionaire Donors
An investigation into political funding, cryptocurrency wealth, personal gifts, corporate interests and potential conflicts of interest.
Investigation date: 2 November 2026
Subject: Nigel Farage, Christopher Harborne, Ben Delo and Reform UK
Summary
The investigation has uncovered a substantial network of financial relationships involving Nigel Farage, two exceptionally wealthy cryptocurrency entrepreneurs and the political organisation he leads.
The principal findings are:
Christopher Harborne gave Farage a personal £5 million gift in 2024, the circumstances and parliamentary declaration of which remain under investigation.
Harborne and Ben Delo announced donations of £36 million each to Reform UK in September 2026.
Both donors have substantial connections to the cryptocurrency industry.
Harborne has previously funded the Conservative Party, the Brexit Party, Reform UK and Boris Johnson personally.
Delo pleaded guilty in the United States to a financial crime involving inadequate anti-money-laundering controls at BitMEX.
Reform's proposed policies include measures that could benefit the wider cryptocurrency industry.
The Metropolitan Police is investigating allegations concerning possible breaches of political funding legislation involving Reform officials.
Farage has substantial commercial interests outside Parliament, including broadcasting, speaking engagements and precious-metals promotion.
An important distinction: None of these findings, individually or collectively, establishes that Farage has acted corruptly or that donors have purchased political influence. They do, however, establish relationships and circumstances that warrant serious examination.
PART ONE: CHRISTOPHER HARBORNE
Who is Christopher Harborne?
Christopher Charles Sherriff Harborne was born in Mosborough, near Sheffield, on 18 December 1962.
He is a British-born businessman who subsequently became a Thai citizen, adopting the name Chakrit Sakunkrit.
His business interests include:
- Cryptocurrency investments
- Aviation and aviation fuel
- International investment
- Private aviation
- Defence-related investments
- Hospitality and property
- He studied at Cambridge University and subsequently worked for McKinsey
- In 2000, he established an investment business called Sherriff Global
- In 2005, he founded AML Global, an international aviation fuel brokerage business.
- According to Sky News, his businesses employ more than 600 people worldwide. AML Global has also secured substantial US Department of Defense contracts
His cryptocurrency interests
One of the most important elements of Harborne's wealth is his investment in Tether. Tether issues USDT, a cryptocurrency designed to maintain a value equivalent to one US dollar.
Tether has become one of the world's largest cryptocurrency businesses. Harborne is reported to be one of its early investors and shareholders. This is particularly relevant because Reform has advocated policies intended to encourage cryptocurrency investment and adoption in Britain.
There is no current evidence establishing that Harborne's donations were conditional on those policies.
Nevertheless, the overlap between a major donor's commercial interests and a political party's policy agenda is a legitimate subject for scrutiny.
Harborne's political donations
His political funding history is revealing. He has supported several different political figures and organisations.
Recipient| Reported contribution
Conservative Party: Approximately £2 million
Brexit Party: Approximately £10 million
Boris Johnson personally: £1 million
Reform UK: More than £22 million before September 2026
Reform UK, September 2026: £36 million
Nigel Farage personally: £5 million gift
The figures are based on reported donations and transactions across different periods. They should not be treated as a single audited total.
The Guardian's investigation in April 2026 described Reform as unusually dependent on Harborne, who had provided approximately two-thirds of its funding over the preceding period examined.
The Boris Johnson connection
Harborne donated £1 million to Boris Johnson in 2022. He subsequently accompanied Johnson on a visit to Ukraine in 2023, serving as an adviser during the trip.
This is particularly interesting because Harborne's interests extend into defence technology and aviation. It is not evidence of improper influence, but it establishes that his political relationships extend considerably beyond Nigel Farage.
The 2019 Brexit connection
Harborne was also a substantial financial supporter of the Brexit Party. His financial backing therefore predates Reform UK and Farage's return to frontline electoral politics in 2024.
This is important: Harborne's relationship with Farage is not simply that of a wealthy individual who recently discovered Reform.
It has a considerably longer history.
PART TWO: THE £5 MILLION PERSONAL GIFT
This is arguably the most important unresolved financial issue involving Farage personally.
In April 2024, Harborne gave Farage £5 million. The payment was not publicly disclosed at the time. The Guardian first revealed it in April 2026.
Farage subsequently offered several explanations for receiving the money.
Initial explanation: A private, unconditional gift. Farage's subsequent statements: A reward for his 27-year Brexit campaign.
These descriptions are not necessarily mutually exclusive, but they raise questions about the actual purpose of the payment.
Farage has insisted that the money was unconditional and that he could not be bought. Harborne's lawyers have also maintained that the gift was unconditional.
The £1.42 million property purchase
There is another important element. In May 2024, Farage purchased a property in Surrey for approximately £1.42 million.
The purchase was completed without a mortgage.
ITV News examined the property transaction and reported that the purchase took place shortly after the £5 million gift.
Reform subsequently stated that the property purchase process had started before the gift and that Farage had already passed the necessary proof-of-funds checks. The party also said the house was financed through Farage's earnings from I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!.
However, ITV reported that company accounts appeared to show the television fee remaining in Farage's company after the property purchase.
This does not establish that the £5 million was used to purchase the property.
It does, however, leave a financial question that deserves a clear documentary explanation.
The parliamentary investigation
The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards opened an investigation on 13 May 2026. The subject is a possible failure to register an interest.
Under parliamentary rules, newly elected MPs must register relevant gifts and benefits received during the preceding 12 months.
Farage was interviewed by the Commissioner in September 2026.
On 2 November, the official parliamentary investigations register continues to list the matter as under investigation. No final finding has been published.
A further development: October 2026
On 19 October, the Guardian published previously unseen undercover footage involving Dan Jukes, a former senior Farage aide. In the footage, Jukes discussed Farage's explanation that the £5 million was a reward for Brexit campaigning.
He said:
"That was not the line to take from the press office."
He subsequently suggested that the explanation had become a combination of a Brexit reward and lifelong security funding.
The Guardian also reported that Jukes described it as being financially advantageous for Farage to profit from politics.
These are statements attributed to Jukes, not findings by a court or regulator. The footage raises questions about how the gift was understood internally and whether its purpose was accurately represented.
Harborne's lawyers maintain that the money was given for security and that he expected nothing in return.
Tax implications
The Conservatives have asked HMRC to investigate whether the payment could constitute taxable remuneration rather than a genuine personal gift.
The distinction matters. A genuine personal gift and a payment connected to services or political activity can have very different tax consequences.
As of this investigation date, we have found no published HMRC determination establishing that Farage owes tax on the payment.
It would therefore be incorrect to describe the gift as either tax evasion or an established tax liability.
PART THREE: BEN DELO
Who is Ben Delo?
Ben Delo is a British entrepreneur who co-founded the cryptocurrency derivatives exchange BitMEX. He studied mathematics and computer science at Oxford University.
He subsequently worked in financial technology and developed expertise in trading systems.
In 2014, he co-founded BitMEX. The exchange became an important player in cryptocurrency derivatives trading.
Delo's fortune was generated substantially through his ownership of the business. His own philanthropic website describes his subsequent involvement in educational, mathematical and academic initiatives.
The BitMEX criminal case
This is an important part of Delo's background and should not be overlooked.
In February 2022, Delo pleaded guilty in the United States to violating the Bank Secrecy Act.
The offence concerned the failure to establish and maintain an adequate anti-money-laundering programme at BitMEX.
The US Department of Justice stated that the exchange had failed to implement appropriate customer identification procedures.
Delo agreed to pay a $10 million criminal fine.
The original prosecution concerned a period when BitMEX had significant US-based customer activity.
The Department of Justice described the platform as having effectively operated without adequate anti-money-laundering safeguards.
Further findings from the court records
An investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism examined the wider prosecution documents.
It reported that:
- BitMEX generated more than $1.3 billion in revenue during the five-year period covered by the criminal case
- Prosecutors said Delo and his co-founders received between $100 million and $150 million each in dividends between 2014 and 2020
- The exchange had, for extended periods, required little more than an email address from customers
- US prosecutors alleged that customer restrictions could be circumvented
Delo pleaded guilty to the Bank Secrecy Act offence. He was not convicted of money laundering, fraud or sanctions evasion. His lawyers disputed the wider allegations, many of which were never tested at trial.
The sentencing judge acknowledged the seriousness of the admitted offence while also recognising that BitMEX had taken steps to exclude substantial amounts of US business.
The Trump pardon
In March 2025, Donald Trump pardoned Delo and his BitMEX co-founders. The pardon also covered the company.
This followed a separate corporate guilty plea and a $100 million fine imposed on BitMEX's parent company.
The pardon prevented that fine from being collected.
It did not mean that the original events never happened, nor does it erase the historical guilty plea.
This is relevant because Delo's subsequent £36 million donation to Reform came after the pardon.
PART FOUR: THE £72 MILLION
On 11–12 September 2026, Reform UK announced two enormous contributions:
- Ben Delo: £36 million
- Christopher Harborne: £36 million
These were described as the largest donations ever made to a British political party.
For perspective, the combined amount exceeded the election campaign expenditure of either Labour or the Conservatives during the 2024 general election.
Both donors said they wanted to help Reform prepare for government.
Why give the money in one payment?
This is an interesting detail. Farage explained that the donors had initially contemplated giving £1 million per month until the next general election.
However, they decided to provide the money in a single payment because of concerns about proposed restrictions on political donations.
The reasoning was explained in Farage's own article published on Reform's website on 14 September. He said both donors were concerned about the government's proposed changes to political funding rules.
This means the timing was not incidental. The donors and Reform were aware that the rules governing political donations were potentially about to change.
PART FIVE: THE CRYPTOCURRENCY CONNECTION
What does Reform propose?
Reform's policies include proposals to make Britain more attractive to cryptocurrency businesses.
Among the ideas discussed by Farage and his party are:
- Reducing capital gains tax on digital assets
- Establishing a Bitcoin reserve fund at the Bank of England
- Encouraging cryptocurrency businesses to establish operations in Britain
- Reducing regulatory obstacles to cryptocurrency adoption
This creates an obvious intersection of interests.
Is this a conflict of interest?
Not automatically. Political parties are entitled to receive donations from individuals whose commercial interests overlap with their policies, provided the donations comply with applicable law.
However, the public has a legitimate interest in understanding whether donors could benefit from policies pursued by a government they helped finance.
The unanswered questions include:
Have either donor discussed specific cryptocurrency legislation with Farage?
Have they influenced Reform's policy development?
Have they requested meetings with prospective ministers?
Have they discussed future regulatory appointments?
Would their businesses benefit financially from the proposed reforms?
We found no publicly established agreement linking either donation to a specific policy concession.
PART SIX: ARE THE DONATIONS LEGALLY PERMISSIBLE?
This is potentially one of the most consequential aspects of the investigation.
Harborne has lived in Thailand for more than two decades and became a Thai citizen. Delo previously lived in Hong Kong. Both men therefore have substantial overseas connections.
Under existing UK political funding rules, individuals generally need to satisfy the relevant UK electoral registration requirements to qualify as permissible individual donors.
The government has been seeking to tighten those arrangements.
The proposed £100,000 cap
The Representation of the People Bill contains measures intended to introduce:
- A £100,000 annual donation cap for overseas contributors
- A minimum UK residency period for returning overseas voters
The government has also proposed restrictions on cryptocurrency donations.
These measures are intended to reduce opportunities for foreign financial interference.
The proposals are particularly relevant to the two Reform donors because they announced their £36 million contributions after the retrospective date specified by the government.
The legislation's final application and implementation must be assessed against the actual parliamentary provisions, not political statements.
An unanswered question
On 14 September, the Guardian reported that Reform deputy leader Richard Tice declined to specify when either donor had returned to Britain.
He said he was confident the donations complied with existing and proposed legislation.
The question is not simply where the donors were living when they made their contributions. It is also whether they satisfied the applicable electoral registration and residency requirements.
This requires examination of the donors' individual circumstances and the final legislation.
PART SEVEN: THE OTHER REFORM FUNDING INVESTIGATION
There is another development that deserves particular attention. In September 2026, Channel 4 News and Verbatim published undercover footage involving senior Reform officials.
The investigation concerned an American donor who was supposedly interested in providing £500,000 to the party.
The footage appeared to show:
- Dan Jukes, a senior Farage adviser, discussing ways of arranging funding through a UK-based individual
- James Orr, Reform's head of policy, discussing the possibility of an American company paying for polling commissioned by the party
The concern was that these arrangements could circumvent restrictions on foreign political donations.
Two senior figures subsequently stepped down.
Reform rejected allegations of wrongdoing and said the party had been targeted by a hoax involving climate activists.
The Metropolitan Police opened a criminal investigation. The Electoral Commission also confirmed that it was examining the relevant information.
Why this matters
Political polling can have considerable value. If a third party pays for research commissioned by a political party, questions arise about whether the arrangement constitutes a regulated donation or benefit.
The relevant legislation is the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000.
The issue is not whether the party actually received cash. It is whether an arrangement provided a financial benefit that should have been declared and whether the source was legally permissible.
As of 2 November 2026, the police investigation remains an unresolved matter. There is no established finding that Farage personally committed an offence.
PART EIGHT: NIGEL FARAGE'S PERSONAL FINANCES
Farage's financial interests extend beyond his parliamentary salary. The official parliamentary register provides a useful starting point.
He has declared interests involving:
- Thorn In The Side Limited
- Farage Media Limited
- Reform UK Party Limited
- Broadcasting
- Speaking engagements
- Writing and media activities
- Commercial promotional work
He holds substantial shareholdings in the three companies listed above.
GB News
Farage has received substantial payments for his broadcasting work. The parliamentary register records, for example:
19 December 2025: £37,246.80
31 March 2026: £40,662
15 June 2026: £18,402
These are individual payments, not his complete annual income from GB News. The payments are made through the declared commercial arrangement with the broadcaster.
Direct Bullion
Another interesting commercial relationship is with Direct Bullion. Farage is registered as a brand ambassador.
The parliamentary register records:
31 October 2025: £135,000
29 May 2026: £270,000*
*The latter payment was registered in June 2026.
These are substantial sums for promotional work. They also demonstrate that Farage's commercial interests extend into the precious-metals market.
International speaking engagements
The register also records payments for speaking engagements from organisations including:
- The Club for Growth, United States
- Hillsdale College, United States
- Blockworks Inc
- Zebu Group
For example, the register records a £30,000 speaking payment from Blockworks and a £16,400 payment from the Club for Growth.
Blockworks is particularly interesting because of its connection to the cryptocurrency industry.
However, a speaking fee is not automatically a political donation or evidence of improper influence.
PART NINE: THE FINANCIAL NETWORK
The following is the documented network emerging from this investigation.
Christopher Harborne
- Major Reform donor
- £5m personal gift to Farage
- Early Tether investor
- £1m donation to Boris Johnson
- Previous Conservative and Brexit Party donor
Ben Delo
- £36m Reform donation
- BitMEX co-founder
- Convicted of Bank Secrecy Act violation
Nigel Farage
- Reform UK leader
- Commercial relationship with GB News
- Commercial relationship with Direct Bullion
- Personal financial interests in several companies
What does this demonstrate?
There are three overlapping areas of interest:
Political influence: Two wealthy individuals have committed extraordinary financial resources to one political organisation.
Commercial interests: Both have substantial cryptocurrency-related backgrounds, while Reform advocates policies intended to expand Britain's cryptocurrency industry.
Political relationships: Harborne's financial relationships extend beyond Reform, including previous support for the Conservatives and Boris Johnson.
These are documented relationships.
Whether they translate into political influence requires further evidence.
PART TEN: FINDINGS AND UNRESOLVED QUESTIONS
What has the investigation established?
Did Harborne give Farage £5m?
Yes.
Was the gift publicly declared when originally made?
No.
Is the declaration being investigated?
Yes.
Did Harborne give Reform £36m in September 2026?
Yes, announced.
Did Delo give Reform £36m?
Yes, announced.
Are both donors connected to cryptocurrency?
Yes.
Did Delo plead guilty to a financial offence?
Yes.
Was Delo subsequently pardoned?
Yes.
Has Reform proposed cryptocurrency-friendly policies?
Yes.
Is Reform under police investigation concerning political funding?
Yes.
Has donor influence over specific government policies been established?
No.
Has Farage been found guilty of wrongdoing in relation to the £5m gift?
No finding published.
The most significant outstanding questions
The following are the issues that genuinely require answers.
A. The £5 million gift
What was the exact payment schedule?
Was the money received in one transaction or several?
What documentary evidence supports the security explanation?
How much has actually been spent on security?
Was any part of the payment connected to Farage's return to electoral politics?
B. The two £36 million donations
What were the donors' precise residency and electoral registration circumstances?
What source-of-funds checks did Reform undertake?
Were the donations paid immediately or structured through other arrangements?
What restrictions, if any, will apply retrospectively?
C. Cryptocurrency policy
Have Harborne or Delo participated in drafting Reform's cryptocurrency policies?
Have either discussed specific regulatory changes with Farage?
What financial benefits could their businesses derive from those proposals?
D. The wider political funding investigation
What did senior Reform officials know about the proposed American funding arrangements?
Were foreign-funded polling arrangements actually implemented?
Were any political benefits received?
What conclusions will the police and Electoral Commission reach?
Primary documents and sources
For transparency, these are the most important records used in this investigation.
UK Parliament – Nigel Farage's financial interests
Parliamentary Commissioner – Current investigations
Representation of the People Bill – Parliamentary progress
Financial and regulatory records
Electoral Commission – Political donations database
Companies House – UK company records
US Department of Justice – BitMEX criminal case
US Commodity Futures Trading Commission – Delo settlement
The Guardian – Christopher Harborne investigation
Sky News – Harborne's business and political donations
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism – Ben Delo and BitMEX
The Guardian – October 2026 Farage gift revelations
BBC – Police investigation into Reform funding
FINAL FINDINGS
The financial relationships surrounding Nigel Farage and Reform UK are considerably more extensive than a straightforward story about two wealthy individuals donating to a political party.
The evidence establishes:
- A £5 million personal gift from a major political donor to Farage
- A long-standing financial relationship between Harborne and Farage's political movements
- A £72 million fundraising announcement involving two cryptocurrency entrepreneurs
- A previous criminal conviction involving one of those donors and inadequate financial safeguards at his former business
- Significant commercial interests held by Farage outside Parliament
- A potential intersection between donor business interests and Reform's proposed cryptocurrency policies
- An active police investigation into separate allegations involving political funding arrangements
There is also an important distinction between the two principal donors.
Harborne's wealth is associated with a diverse business portfolio, including aviation and cryptocurrency investments.
Delo's fortune is substantially associated with BitMEX, a cryptocurrency exchange whose former management admitted serious failures in anti-money-laundering compliance.
Neither man's business history automatically disqualifies him from political participation or donating to a party.
But the sheer scale of the financial contributions raises legitimate questions about transparency, accountability and the relationship between private wealth and political power.
The central issue is not whether wealthy people should be allowed to support political parties.
It is whether the British public can establish who is financing its political representatives, what interests those individuals have, and whether the system provides sufficient protection against undisclosed influence.
That is the democratic question at the heart of this investigation.
Editorial note: This investigation reflects publicly available information as at 2 November 2026. Parliamentary, police and regulatory investigations remain unresolved where indicated.
Allegations have not been presented as established facts, and the responses and denials of the individuals and organisations concerned have been included.
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