Crypto billionaire faces $132,000 UK donation cap

Thailand-based investor Christopher Harborne faces a $132,000 annual limit on political donations to the UK under proposed legislation that would ban cryptocurrency gifts and bar overseas donors based on actual residency.

Harborne has given millions to Reform UK and a separate personal donation to Nigel Farage. Over the past year he transferred nearly $20 million to Reform UK and made a $6.6 million personal gift to Farage. The £/dollar amounts are subject to review. The parliamentary standards watchdog has opened an inquiry into the personal gift; potential sanctions include a formal apology, suspension or expulsion from the House of Commons.

The Representation of the People Bill would set a maximum of $132,000 a year for donations from people judged to be overseas residents and would introduce a blanket ban on cryptocurrency donations. The legislation bases donor eligibility on actual residency rather than on electoral registration. Local council officials would have the authority to determine whether someone is “normally resident” in the UK.

Harborne recently registered a voting address in Hampshire. He lives in Thailand and has used the Thai name Chakrit Sakunkrit. Officials drafting the bill say simple voter registration will not be enough to qualify as a UK donor if a person’s life and financial centre remain abroad. Harborne has lived in Thailand for more than five years, so under the proposed rules his allowable contribution to Reform UK would fall to the capped amount.

The ban on cryptocurrency donations targets a funding route used for transfers from overseas accounts. Reform UK received a substantial portion of Harborne’s transfers via crypto and other offshore mechanisms. The review that informed the bill identified offshore funding channels used by wealthy non‑residents as a source of concern for the funding of UK political parties.

For Harborne to provide larger donations under the new rules he would need to establish actual UK residency. Such a move would expose his reported wealth-estimated at about $24 billion-to UK taxation and reporting requirements.

Nigel Farage responded to questions about the spending by telling reporters it was “not any of your business,” adding that he could “spend it on Ferraris if I want… I can put it on the horses.”

The bill must pass through Parliament before it becomes law. If enacted, the rules would take effect ahead of future election cycles and change the legal status of offshore political donations. Donors judged to be non‑resident would be limited to the capped amount unless they change their residency status.