Reform UK’s quarterly funding dominated by crypto donor pardoned by Trump

Reform UK’s April-June fundraising was heavily weighted by a £4 million donation from crypto entrepreneur Ben Delo, who pleaded guilty in 2022 to a U.S. banking-secrecy violation tied to his firm BitMEX and was later pardoned by Donald Trump. The contribution represented 75% of the party’s total £5.3 million intake, a drop from the more than £9 million raised in each of the two earlier quarters. Party leader Nigel Farage, a veteran Brexit campaigner, welcomed the money as part of his pledge to “save Britain”.

The party disclosed no gifts from its other principal donor, Christopher Harborne, a Thailand-based British crypto investor, while the UK government moves to restrict political donations from citizens living abroad to £100,000. Recent revelations that Harborne gave Farage £5 million in 2024, which Farage claims was a personal gift and therefore not required to be declared, have triggered a parliamentary investigation. If the probe finds a breach, Farage could lose his seat and be forced to stand again. By contrast, Labour raised £3.6 million and the Conservatives £2.8 million in the same period.