Reform UK receives tens of millions in donations from crypto entrepreneurs

British right-wing populist Nigel Farage's Reform UK party has received party donations totaling 36 million pounds (around 42 million euros) each from two crypto entrepreneurs. According to a report in the Daily Telegraph on Saturday, entrepreneur Christopher Harborne justified his donation by saying that the party needed “more money than could be raised through contributions alone” from its members in order to build an infrastructure that could compete with the major parties – Labor and Tories.

On Friday, crypto billionaire Ben Delo announced in the Daily Telegraph that he had made a donation of the same amount to Reform UK and also emphasized that the anti-immigrant party was not as financially well positioned as the other parties. “I want a fair fight and a level playing field,” said the co-founder of cryptocurrency platform BitMEX.

Delo, currently based in Hong Kong, pleaded guilty in the United States in 2022 to violating a banking secrecy law. But he was pardoned by US President Donald Trump last year. Delo donated a total of four million pounds to Reform UK in January and March.

Reform UK has raised at least £85 million in donations since the start of the year - far more than the Conservatives, which received £10.2 million, and Labor, which received £7.7 million, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Farage and UK Reform are currently under investigation over the party's funding. Farage is accused of failing to declare a £5 million donation - which also came from Harborne - shortly before his election as an MP in 2024.

The right-wing populist party had been leading the polls in Great Britain since last year. In view of several financial scandals, Reform UK has recently fallen behind the ruling Labor Party. The replacement of Keir Starmer by Andy Burnham at the top of the party and government in July also breathed new life into Labour. The next general election in Great Britain is scheduled to take place in the summer of 2029.