Reform UK receives record £36million donation from cryptocurrency billionaire

Reform UK has been given a record £36million by cryptocurrency tycoon Ben Delo, who was convicted in the US of failing to establish an adequate anti-money laundering program.

The BitMEX co-founder said that he provided the funds upfront to ensure a "fair fight and a level playing field" against the entrenched advantages of the Labour and Conservative parties.

The move by Delo, who recently returned to the UK after living in Hong Kong, comes as the House of Lords considers a package of legislation that includes a proposed £100,000 cap on donations from British citizens living overseas.

As a result, the payment, which represents £1 million a month between now and the latest possibly date of the next general election in 2029, has been made up front by Mr Delo to avoid attempts to block it.

The huge donation will be a welcome boost to Nigel Farage’s party at a time where he is facing a police investigation into oversees funding for Reform UK, alongside a standards inquiry into an undeclared £5 million"unconditional gift" he received from Thailand-based British crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne.

The party leader said: “I am honoured and humbled that Ben Delo has shown such confidence in Reform.

“Ben knows that we are the only party that can turn the country around and reverse Britain’s decline.”

Mr Delo is now Reform’s largest donor having previously been second behind billionaire Christopher Harborne, who gave £9 million to the party last August.

In February 2022, Mr Delo pleaded guilty in a New York federal court to willfully failing to establish, implement, and maintain an adequate anti-money laundering (AML) program at BitMEX.

But he was granted an unconditional pardon last year by US President Donald Trump.

Writing for the Telegraph newspaper, he said: “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.

“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.”

The party has faced ongoing questions about its finances which overshadowed its annual conference last week following an undercover investigation broadcast on Channel 4 News.

Detectives from the Metropolitan Police are investigating after the report showed senior Reform figures appearing to discuss how to disguise donations from foreign sources.

Reform UK denies any wrongdoing and has said it will co-operate fully with the probe.

Mr Farage’s long-time aide Dan Jukes, who also denies wrongdoing, and head of policy James Orr have been suspended pending an internal investigation into the allegations.

The party leader also faces an investigation by Parliament’s standards watchdog over a £5 million gift he received from Mr Harborne.

Mr Farage has said he has done nothing wrong and the gift was not political.

A Labour spokesperson said: “Nigel Farage is still up to his neck in scandal over his secret £5 million ‘gift’ from his other crypto-billionaire backer and the criminal investigation into potentially illegal donations.

“The questions he faces aren’t going away – in fact they’re piling up.

“Reform UK can’t buy their way out of questions about sleaze, criminal mates and dodgy finances.

“It’s time Farage and Reform finally came clean with the public, co-operated fully with the police, and proved they’re not just in it for themselves.”

Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office spokesperson Lisa Smart said: “Nigel Farage wants to bring Trump’s America to our shores by buying his way into power. He’s trying to get into Number 10 as if it’s a stop on a monopoly board.

“It can’t go on like this. Andy Burnham needs to introduce a cap on political donations. Our democracy depends on it.”