Reform UK’s Nigel Farage Faces Standards Probe Over Tether Billionaire’s $6.7 Million Gift

The U.K.’s Parliamentary Standards Commissioner is reportedly launching an inquiry into a $6.7 million (£5 million) gift received by Reform U.K. leader Nigel Farage from billionaire Tether investor Christopher Harborne.

Farage declared he was under “no obligation” to declare the gift, which was made before he announced his intention to stand in the 2024 general election. “Believe you me, we’ve looked at this from every legal angle,” he told broadcasters earlier this week.

He claimed that the gift from Harborne, who holds a 12% stake in stablecoin issuer Tether, was to ensure his personal security, stating that it would help “ensure I can be safe for the rest of my life.”

A Reform U.K. spokesperson defended the arrangement, telling the BBC that Farage “has always been clear that this was a personal, ​unconditional gift and no rules were broken.”

Harborne, who resides in Thailand and holds Thai citizenship under the name Chakrit Sakunkrit, has thrown his weight behind Reform U.K., donating some £12 million to the party including a £9 million contribution last year that marks the largest single political donation from a living individual in British history.

His contributions accounted for approximately two-thirds of Reform’s funding last year, making him the party’s dominant financial backer.

Reform U.K. has emerged as an enthusiastic advocate for cryptocurrency, with Farage last year declaring that he would be a “champion” for the sector, calling for lower capital gains taxes on crypto and the establishment of a national Bitcoin reserve.

The party was the only major political party in the country to accept cryptocurrency donations, prior to a moratorium imposed by the U.K. government in March over concerns about “foreign financial influence and interference” in the democratic process.

The ban, triggered by the government-commissioned Rycroft review, also introduced a £100,000 annual cap on political donations made by British citizens living abroad. Harborne claimed to have been “the reason” behind the cap, adding that he has not ruled out returning to the U.K. to get around it.

Farage won his Clacton parliamentary seat in July 2024 after leading Reform U.K. to significant gains in the general election.

The House of Commons code of conduct states that new MPs “must register all their current financial interests, and any registrable benefits (other than earnings) received in the 12 months before their election within one month of their election”.

Should he be found to have broken the code of conduct, Farage faces potential punishments ranging from a written or oral apology to suspension or expulsion from the House, with the latter reserved for the most serious breaches.

Decrypt has contacted Christopher Harborne and Nigel Farage for comment.