The £5 million gift to Nigel Farage from cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne was reported to the National Crime Agency by bankers who suspected it may have been laundered money, the Guardian can reveal.
Farage faced a 1pm deadline on Tuesday to respond to the newspaper about the disclosure. Hours later, he announced he would force a byelection in his Clacton-on-Sea seat, a move that appeared to backfire as other major parties said they would not field candidates, describing it as a ‘media circus’ and ‘vanity project’.
The gift, first revealed in April, has triggered the biggest crisis of Farage’s political career. He has given differing explanations for the money and insisted he had no obligation to disclose it because he was not a politician at the time. However, financial industry sources indicate he received at least part of the £5 million after he ruled himself out of standing in the general election on 23 May 2024, with the balance arriving shortly before he announced his candidacy for Clacton.
Harborne’s lawyers claim the money was received on 5 April. Farage said he did not know about the suspicious activity report (SAR) filed with the NCA on 16 May, adding: ‘I have no reason to doubt the ultimate source of the money.’ He also repeated unsubstantiated claims that the information was illegally obtained.
The SAR is not proof of wrongdoing but invites the agency to investigate. Banks scrutinise transactions involving politically exposed persons, and Harborne’s cryptocurrency dealings added to the risk. Farage became a ‘person of significant control’ for Reform UK on 1 May, effectively owning the party, a fact that may fuel questions about his disclosure obligations.
