Nigel Farage faces probe over £5m gift from Tether investor

The Parliamentary Standards Commissioner has opened an inquiry into whether Nigel Farage failed to register a £5 million personal gift from Christopher Harborne, a Thailand-based investor who holds about 12% of stablecoin issuer Tether. The payment, reported at about $6.7 million, was made in 2024 before Farage announced his candidacy for parliament.

Farage, who won the Clacton seat in July 2024 as leader of Reform UK, told broadcasters he believed he had “no obligation” to declare the payment and that the matter had been reviewed legally. He added the funds were intended to “ensure I can be safe for the rest of my life” and that the legal position had been examined from “every legal angle.”

A Reform UK spokesperson defended the arrangement, describing it as a personal, unconditional gift and saying no rules were broken.

Christopher Harborne, who also holds Thai citizenship under the name Chakrit Sakunkrit, has given about £12 million to Reform UK, including a £9 million donation last year. Those contributions made up roughly two-thirds of the party’s funding in the previous year.

The House of Commons code of conduct requires new MPs to register current financial interests and any registrable benefits, other than earnings, received in the 12 months before their election within one month of taking their seat. If the commissioner finds a breach, sanctions range from a written or oral apology to suspension or, in the most serious cases, expulsion from the House.

The inquiry follows a government review into foreign financial influence that led to a moratorium on political donations in cryptocurrency. The moratorium applies retrospectively and requires parties to return crypto donations within 30 days. The review also introduced a £100,000 annual cap on donations by British citizens living abroad; Harborne has said he was “the reason” for that cap and has indicated he might return to the UK to qualify.

Reform UK had been the only major party accepting cryptocurrency donations before the moratorium. Farage has publicly supported digital assets, calling for lower capital gains tax on crypto and proposing a national Bitcoin reserve.

The commissioner will examine the timing and nature of Harborne’s gift to determine whether it met the threshold for registration under parliamentary rules. The outcome will decide whether formal sanctions are recommended to the House of Commons.