Reform UK leader and Member of Parliament Nigel Farage is under formal investigation by the parliamentary standards watchdog after failing to declare a £5 million ($6.8 million) gift from crypto-billionaire Christopher Harborne, news services including the Guardian reported on Wednesday.
Farage received the donation from Harborne, a Thailand-based businessman who owns a 12% stake in stablecoin issuer Tether, weeks before announcing he would stand as a candidate in the 2024 general election, and did not declare this when he was elected MP for Clapton. New MPs must record all financial interest received in the 12 months before their election.
According to a weekly YouGov poll of voting intentions, Reform UK won the largest share of the vote, with 28%, putting Farage in the lead to become the next prime minister. If the watchdog finds he has breached the code of conduct, he could be suspended and potentially forced to fight for his parliamentary seat again.
Farage, who supports the crypto industry, said because Harborne’s donations were intended to cover his security expenses, he was not required by law to declare them. Reform UK recently said the gift fell within the purely personal gifts exemption. Labor and other parties argue that Harborne’s donations are subject to the rule, and the gift was referred to the parliamentary commissioner last month.
Parliamentary Standards Commissioner Daniel Greenberg is expected to investigate Farage under rule 5 of the code of conduct, which requires lawmakers to “conscientiously fulfill” requirements for registering their interests, the Guardian said.
The British reform leader is not on the commission’s list of ongoing investigations.
In April, Ben Delo, co-founder of BitMEX, said in an op-ed for CoinDesk that he had donated 4 million pounds to the party since the start of the year.
The British government imposed a moratorium on crypto political donations in March, citing a review warning that digital assets could be used to funnel foreign money into British politics. The ban covers donations of any size and will be included in the Representation of the People Bill, with criminal penalties for non-compliance.
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