Reform UK leader Nigel Farage faces questions over donations from a convicted fraudster

LONDON (AP) — Nigel Farage usually likes the limelight, but he has been unusually quiet of late.

The leader of anti-immigration party Reform UK has suspended his near-weekly press conferences and frequent media appearances in recent weeks as he faces questions over undeclared financial gifts.

Farage, a prominent British ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, denies wrongdoing. But the scrutiny of his finances has spurred speculation about the future of a politician some considered favorite to be prime minister after the next national election.

Reform UK has only eight of the 650 lawmakers in the House of Commons but consistently leads opinion polls over the governing Labour Party and the main opposition Conservatives.

Farage is facing a probe by Parliament’s standards watchdog over a 5 million pound ($6.7 million) gift from a Thailand-based cryptocurrency billionaire. On Sunday an opposition politician asked the watchdog to open another investigation over donations from a convicted fraudster.

Liberal Democrat lawmaker Josh Babarinde said “there is a serious question as to whether Mr. Farage met his obligations under the Code of Conduct” for members of Parliament.

Farage ally was jailed in the US for fraud

The Sunday Times has reported claims about Farage’s financial relationship with George Cottrell, an aristocratic, crypto-gambling entrepreneur and on-off aide to the Reform UK leader.

Cottrell was arrested at Chicago’s O’Hare airport in 2016, while traveling with Farage, over allegations he offered to launder money for undercover agents posing as drug traffickers. Indicted on 21 counts relating to money laundering, fraud, blackmail and extortion, he agreed to plead guilty to a single charge of wire fraud, admitting attempting to defraud criminals on the dark web by masquerading as a money launderer. He served eight months in prison.

Cottrell, 32, remains close to Farage, and The Sunday Times said he gave the politician funding for staffing and security before Britain’s 2024 general election, as well as the use of a London townhouse near Buckingham Palace.

Reform Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick said Cottrell is an “old friend” of Farage with no formal role in the political party. He confirmed Cottrell had paid for Farage’s security and staff, but said it was “before he became a Member of Parliament” in July 2024.

U.K. rules state that newly elected lawmakers must declare gifts worth more than 300 pounds ($400) they received in the previous 12 months, except where the gift “could not be reasonably thought by others” to relate to their political activities.

In a statement, Farage said he was the target of an “establishment hit job.”

“I have done no wrongdoing, followed the rules and I am now considering legal action against The Sunday Times,” he said.

Parliamentary standards commissioner Daniel Greenberg is already investigating a 5 million pound ($6.6 million) donation to Farage from Christopher Harborne, a British businessman based in Thailand. Farage says the money was a personal gift that he used to fund security and came before he was elected to the House of Commons.

Inquiry could be a hurdle to Reform's rise

If Farage is found to have breached the rules, he could be suspended from Parliament. A suspension of 10 days or more would allow voters in his Clacton constituency in eastern England to trigger a special election for the seat.

It would be a serious blow to a party whose rise has echoes of Trump’s nationalist, anti-immigration playbook. Farage has capitalized on — critics say stoked — concerns about migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats, which he has called an invasion.

Reform UK, which has welcomed several high-profile defectors from the Conservatives, was the big winner in local and regional elections in May that triggered the ouster of Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the hands of his own Labour Party.

But Reform UK has lost three consecutive special elections that it hoped to win, a possible sign its support may be sagging. The most recent loss was to Labour's Andy Burnham, who is likely to succeed Starmer as prime minister within weeks.

Questions about Reform UK funding have spurred calls for an overhaul of Britain’s political finance laws. There are strict limits on how much political parties can spend on elections, but they can accept unlimited donations as long as the donors are U.K. voters or companies registered in Britain.

The government said in March it would ban political donations in cryptocurrencies and put an annual cap of 100,000 pounds ($134,000) on donations by British voters living abroad. Reform UK had received 12 million pounds ($16 million) from Harborne in the previous year.

On Monday, the government said the 100,000 pound limit also will apply to donors who move to the U.K. from overseas for a year after they arrive.