Farage Faces UK Standards Probe over $7M Gift from Crypto Billionaire

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is reportedly facing a parliamentary standards inquiry over whether he failed to declare a 5 million pound ($6.7 million) gift from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne.

The UK Parliamentary Standards Commissioner has opened an inquiry into whether Farage breached House of Commons rules by not registering the payment, the BBC reported Wednesday.

Farage said he was under “no obligation” to declare the gift from the Reform party backer, which he received before he was elected to the Commons in 2024. Critics argue he should have registered the payment after becoming a member of parliament.

The Conservatives wrote to the parliamentary standards watchdog asking it to investigate the matter, according to the BBC. The Conservatives also raised the issue with the Electoral Commission, which is reportedly deciding whether to launch a formal investigation into the donation.

The inquiry adds to scrutiny of Farage’s financial ties to crypto-linked backers and businesses, as UK lawmakers and regulators pay closer attention to the role of digital asset money in politics.

The development comes a month after the UK Liberal Democrats called on the Financial Conduct Authority to investigate whether Farage breached market rules by appearing in a promotional video for Stack BTC while holding a financial stake in the company.

Farage previously disclosed a $286,000 equity investment in the company after acquiring a 6.31% stake through his media vehicle Thorn In The Side in March.

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UK lawmakers mull halt to political crypto donations

Cryptocurrency donations to political parties have come under growing scrutiny in the UK.

Farage’s Reform UK was the first party to start accepting crypto donations in 2025. Reform recently disclosed a $4 million donation from Harborne in the fourth quarter of 2025, after receiving a record $12 million gift in the previous quarter. 

Political cryptocurrency donations are currently legal in the UK, subject to permissible rules under the Electoral Commission guidance. However, some parliamentary committees have called for a halt.

On March 18, the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy urged the UK government to impose an immediate moratorium on crypto donations to political parties until the Electoral Commission produces statutory guidance ahead of the next general election, which is due to take place by August 2029.

The committee also called for the creation of a Political Finance Enforcement Unit and for reducing the minimum declaration threshold of political donations from $14,900 to $668. It cited growing foreign-state threats and efforts to influence the UK’s positions on critical issues, including its relations with the US, the European Union and Ukraine.

Three weeks earlier, Matt Western, chair of the committee, urged the government to put a temporary halt on crypto donations to political parties, citing foreign interference risks, Cointelegraph reported on Feb. 26. 

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