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Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has been accused of a “conflict of interest” by rival political parties after taking an undisclosed £5mn personal gift from a crypto billionaire in 2024, months before pledging to slash tax and regulation on the digital assets industry if he becomes prime minister.
Reform published a draft bill in May last year which promised to deregulate the crypto industry and cut stamp duty on transactions from 24 per cent to 10 per cent.
Farage has eagerly courted crypto voters and financiers, positioning himself as their “champion” in an echo of US President Donald Trump’s enthusiasm for the digital assets sector.
Farage admitted on Wednesday he received a £5mn gift from Christopher Harborne, a crypto investor who lives in Thailand, in 2024. The gift was first revealed by the Guardian.
Anna Turley, chair of the Labour Party, said the situation represented an “open and shut conflict of interest”.
She added: “Nigel Farage was given £5mn by a crypto billionaire and is now promising a massive crypto tax cut — all while trying to keep the huge personal [gift] secret. Farage needs to come clean with the British public about why he is singling out crypto.”
Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: “You don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to see a potentially significant conflict of interest.”
Farage has been accused of breaking House of Commons rules over the gift from Harborne and could face censure as a result including, in the most extreme outcome, suspension from parliament and a possible by-election in his seat.
Reform said no rules had been broken because Farage was “retired from frontline politics” at the time of the “unconditional gift”.
Last year, Harborne — who made the vast majority of his fortune from early crypto bets, including a sizeable stake in the stablecoin platform Tether — donated a separate £12mn to Reform, making him one of the biggest donors in British political history.
UK crypto businessman Ben Delo said this year he had donated £4mn to Reform. Delo was pardoned by Trump last year after breaking an American bank secrecy law, and said he had been “wrongfully targeted” via an “obscure, antiquated law”.
Reform’s crypto bill includes plans to create a state-owned bitcoin reserve as well as cut capital gains tax on transactions.
Farage has a personal stake in crypto after investing nearly £280,000 in London-listed Stack BTC, whose purpose is to buy and hold bitcoin. He said in March he “has long been one of the UK’s few political advocates for bitcoin”.
Tory chair Kevin Hollinrake said “serious questions need to be answered about Reform’s links to crypto and whether their policy agenda is being shaped by those financial interests”.
A spokesperson for Reform said: “Any suggestion that policy development is connected to or influenced by individual donors is false.
“Reform UK’s policy positions are developed independently and are not directed by any donor.”
Dan Neidle, founder of Tax Policy Associates, a think-tank, said Reform’s proposal to cut capital gains tax on crypto would not make the UK “particularly competitive” given many countries did not have any levy on that asset class. But he questioned why any government would want to make crypto more attractive than other investments such as equities.
The revelation that Harborne provided the £5mn gift in 2024 sparked speculation the money was given in some form of quid pro quo for Farage leading Reform into the next general election.
A Reform spokesperson insisted earlier this week that “the two are entirely unrelated” and the money was given to ensure Farage’s personal safety as a citizen rather than a politician. They suggested the gift was given in April 2024, but declined to provide a precise date.
They added: “The gift was given when Nigel was retired from front-line politics. A while after the gift was given, Nigel confirmed he wouldn’t stand at the next general election. He then reversed his decision to stand in June.”
