Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK and a member of Parliament, is facing a formal investigation by the parliamentary standards watchdog after failing to declare a 5 million-pound ($6.8 million) gift from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne, news services including the Guardian reported Wednesday.
Farage received the donation from Harborne, a Thailand-based businessman with a 12% stake in stablecoin issuer Tether, weeks before announcing he would stand as a candidate in the 2024 general election, and did not declare it when elected as MP for Clapton. New MPs must register all financial interests received within the 12 months preceding their election.
A weekly YouGov poll of voting intentions has Reform UK gaining the largest share of votes, at 28%, putting Farage as the frontrunner to become the next prime minister. If the watchdog finds he breached the code of conduct, he could face suspension and potentially be forced to fight again for his parliamentary seat.
Farage, who is supportive of the crypto industry, has said that because Harborne’s donations were intended to cover his security expenses he was not compelled by law to declare them. Reform UK recently said the gift falls under the exemption for purely personal gifts. Labour and other parties argue that Harborne’s donations are subject to the rule, and the gift was referred to the parliamentary commissioner last month.
The parliamentary commissioner for standards, Daniel Greenberg, is set to investigate Farage under rule 5 of the code of conduct, which compels lawmakers to “fulfil conscientiously” requirements relating to their registration of interests, the Guardian said.
The Reform UK leader does not appear on the commission’s list of current investigations.
In April, BitMEX co-founder Ben Delo said in an op-ed for CoinDesk that he had given the party 4 million pounds since the start of the year.
The U.K. government imposed a moratorium on political crypto donations in March, citing a review warning that digital assets could be used to channel foreign money into U.K. politics. The ban covers donations of any size and will be written into the Representation of the People Bill, with criminal penalties for non-compliance.
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