Nigel Farage’s £5m gift from a Thai-based cryptocurrency billionaire was reported to the UK’s National Crime Agency over concerns it may have been money laundering, according to reports.
The Reform UK leader received the sum from Christopher Harborne in 2024, prior to announcing his decision to stand in the general election and is now being investigated by the Commons standards watchdog.
Mr Farage, who is under increasing public scrutiny over his financial dealings, has insisted the money was an “unconditional gift” and that he did not need to declare it to the parliamentary authorities.
While he initially said the money was given to pay for his security, he has since described it as a reward for the Brexit campaign and insisted he could spend it on Ferrari cars if he wished to.
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The Guardian has reported that bankers raised a suspicious activity report over the gift in May 2024 with the NCA, given that banks pay closer attention to transactions involving “politically exposed persons”.
An SAR is not an indication or proof of wrongdoing but an invitation for the crime agency to investigate the transaction further.
In one of the letters sent to the Guardian, Farage said he did not know about the SAR and added: “I have no reason to doubt the ultimate source of the money.”
On Tuesday, Mr Farage announced he would be resigning as an MP and fight a by-election after coming under intense pressure over unregistered donations of cash and support.
In a video statement, the Clacton MP said: “I have done nothing wrong. I have not broken the law in any way at all.”
He accused the media of harassment and vowed to fight a “people versus the establishment” by-election.
He has faced calls for an investigation following reports that long-term ally George Cottrell had provided undeclared funding for security and staffing in the year before he was elected.
Mr Cottrell reportedly recruited and paid three staff to work on Mr Farage’s social media before the general election, and has continued to allow him to use a five-storey Georgian property he rented near Buckingham Palace.
Under the Commons’ rules, new MPs are required to register any gifts worth more than £300 they received in the previous 12 months, except where the gift “could not be reasonably thought by others” to relate to their political activities.
Labour and the Conservatives said they would not take part in the by-election and that any investigation into his finances should run its course.
A Labour Party spokesperson said: “Nigel Farage is engulfed in a sleaze scandal and he’s desperately trying to change the subject.
“It’s pathetic, and the Labour Party is not going to indulge it.”
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said: “We will be standing a candidate in the real by-election, which will follow the standards investigation into Nigel Farage’s fishy finances.
“We will not be standing a candidate in the fake by-election that Farage is causing to distract people from what is happening.
“We need to let that investigation run its course, and I think the reason why Nigel Farage has resigned is because he’s terrified that he’s going to be found to have done something wrong.”
An NCA spokesperson told The Independent: “The NCA does not confirm or deny the receipt of suspicious activity reports (SARs), nor comment on how any SAR is used. SARs are confidential and breaching that confidentiality risks committing a tipping off offence under the Proceeds of Crime Act.”
