Reform UK gets record £72 million in crypto-linked donations amid probe

Reform UK has taken two £36 million donations from crypto billionaires Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne. The record gifts have intensified scrutiny of the party's fundraising as police examine alleged foreign donor links.

In Short

• Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne each pledged £36 million over weekend
• Met Police opened an inquiry into alleged foreign donor concealment
• Liberal Democrats warned vast billionaire funding could distort Britain's electoral system

Reform UK, the anti-immigration party led by Nigel Farage, has received £72 million from two cryptocurrency billionaires over the weekend, prompting fresh concern over money in British politics. After it emerged that BitMEX co-founder Ben Delo had given the party £36 million, crypto investor Christopher Harborne said on Saturday that he was matching the donation.

The two donations are tied as the biggest ever made to a British political party. They come as Reform UK faces scrutiny over its fundraising, with London police this week opening an investigation into reports that the party may have broken laws banning donations from overseas donors. Established parties warned that unlimited donations from billionaire businessmen could corrupt elections, while the Liberal Democrats called on Prime Minister Andy Burnham to cap donations.

Harborne said he was supporting Reform UK because he believes its policies would bring in the investment Britain needs to strengthen the economy and raise money for healthcare, education and other public services. Liberal Democrat spokesperson Lisa Smart said: "Nigel Farage wants to bring Trump's America to our shores by buying his way into power." She added: "He's trying to get into Number 10 as if it's a stop on a monopoly board."

Delo, who recently moved back to the UK from Hong Kong, said in The Telegraph that his donation was meant to help break up the "cartel" that controls British politics, in an apparent reference to Labour and the Conservatives. He wrote: "Unlike the people who express mock concern for the health of our democracy' while doing everything they can to keep it as a cartel, I want a fair fight and a level playing field." He added: "My conclusion from Reform's recent troubles is that they should spend less time trying to raise funds to compete on equal terms and more time preparing for government."

Delo said the sum was worked out as £1 million a month until the latest possible date for the next general election in August 2029, and that he was giving the money up front in case the government moves to limit political donations. Reform UK has risen in opinion polls by attacking the failure of successive governments to stop inflatable boats bringing migrants to Britain and by campaigning to make asylum claims harder. Earlier this year, the party won 1,453 seats on local councils in England, more than any other party. Farage says Reform is preparing for government after the next election, although it currently has eight seats in the House of Commons, compared with 408 for the ruling Labour Party.

Delo was pardoned by US President Donald Trump last year after pleading guilty to violating laws against money laundering. BitMEX was ordered to pay a USD 100 million fine in 2025 after prosecutors said it had "willfully flouted US anti-money laundering laws to boost revenue". Delo and two other BitMEX co-founders were later sentenced to probation after pleading guilty in 2022 to violating the US Banking Secrecy Act. Trump pardoned BitMEX and its co-founders on March 27, 2025.

Questions over Reform UK's finances had already overshadowed its annual conference last week after an undercover Channel 4 News investigation showed senior party officials appearing to discuss ways to hide donations from foreign donors. The Metropolitan Police Service said on Wednesday that it had opened an investigation. Under UK electoral law, parties can accept donations only from British voters or UK-registered businesses. Reform UK has denied any wrongdoing and said it will fully cooperate with the inquiry. Farage is also being investigated by Parliament's standards watchdog over his failure to declare a £5 million gift from Harborne before he was elected to the House of Commons. Farage has said he did nothing wrong because the money was a personal gift and not linked to politics.

The record donations have given Reform UK a major financial boost as it pushes to expand beyond its current parliamentary presence, but they have also sharpened attention on the party's fundraising and the broader debate over political funding in Britain.

With PTI Inputs

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