Reform UK receives £4 million donation from crypto entrepreneur pardoned by Trump

Nigel Farage's Reform UK party received a £4 million donation from crypto entrepreneur Ben Delo, who was previously pardoned by Donald Trump. The donation accounted for 75% of the £5.3 million Reform UK raised in the second quarter of 2026, outstripping mainstream rivals. However, the party faces intense financial scrutiny, including a parliamentary standards probe into Farage's undeclared £5 million gift from Christopher Harborne and a police investigation into pre-election donations.

Ben Delo crypto donation

• ▪Ben Delo stated in April 2026 that he returned to the United Kingdom from Hong Kong to become politically active and build a war chest for Reform UK.
• ▪Reform UK received a £4 million donation from crypto investor Ben Delo during the April-to-June 2026 quarter, accounting for 75 percent of the party's total donations in that period.
• ▪Ben Delo, who previously pleaded guilty to a U.S. banking secrecy violation in 2022 and was pardoned by Donald Trump, has donated a total of £8 million to Reform UK.

Overseas funding cap impact

• ▪Reform UK raised £5.3 million in total donations during the April-to-June 2026 quarter, exceeding the £3.6 million raised by Labour and £2.8 million raised by the Conservatives.
• ▪Reform UK received no donations during the April-to-June 2026 quarter from its biggest donor, Thailand-based crypto entrepreneur Christopher Harborne.
• ▪The British government announced plans to limit political donations from British citizens living abroad to £100,000, requiring donors to be on the domestic register for 12 months.

Parliamentary standards investigation

• ▪Nigel Farage denies wrongdoing regarding the £5 million from Christopher Harborne, claiming the funds were a personal gift that did not require public declaration.
• ▪Nigel Farage stated he expects to be interviewed by Parliament's standards commissioner Daniel Greenberg but criticized the political composition of the 14-member standards committee.
• ▪Parliament's standards watchdog is investigating whether Nigel Farage broke rules by failing to declare a £5 million gift from Christopher Harborne in 2024.

Police donation probe

• ▪Nigel Farage stated he was not involved in the transactions regarding Fiona Cottrell's donations but was told that the money belonged to her.
• ▪The Metropolitan Police probe is examining donations from Fiona Cottrell, mother of Nigel Farage's ally George Cottrell, and payments from a company controlled by Richard Tice.
• ▪The Metropolitan Police is investigating whether payments to Reform UK in the weeks before the 2024 general election complied with political donation laws.

Reform UK conference strategy

• ▪Nigel Farage acknowledged that Reform UK's polling and his personal favorability ratings have declined following a summer of intense scrutiny and local by-election challenges.
• ▪Reform UK will use its annual party conference in Birmingham to outline key policy pledges for the first 100 days of a potential Nigel Farage premiership.

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