Nigel Farage, leader of the UK's Reform Party, received financial benefits from a convicted fraudster in the year before he was elected to parliament and may have breached parliamentary rules by failing to declare them, according to an investigation by The Sunday Times.

George Cottrell, 32, was jailed in the US in 2017 for his role in a money laundering conspiracy. He allegedly paid for Farage's security, drivers, staff, and accommodation.

The newspaper reported that Cottrell recruited and paid three staff to work on Farage's social media before the general election and allowed him to use a five-storey Georgian townhouse near Buckingham Palace.

A spokesman for Farage called the story "baseless and contrived," stating that "no parliamentary rules have been broken."

Josh Babarinde, a Liberal Democrat MP, wrote to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards on Sunday, calling for an investigation into the allegations. "Given the value and nature of the support described, there is a serious question as to whether Mr. Farage met his obligations under the Code of Conduct for MPs," he said.

The MPs' code of conduct requires new members to declare any benefit worth more than £300 received in the 12 months before their election if it is related to their political activities. Farage declared only one benefit from Cottrell, worth about £9,200, for travel to a conservative conference in Belgium.

The Sunday Times said Cottrell confirmed through lawyers that he had hired staff in Farage's private office and paid them by bank transfer. The "last payment" for private security came between January and March 2024.

Farage is already under investigation by the parliamentary standards commissioner for accepting £5 million from cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne.

Source: www.aljazeera.com