British police are investigating at least £500,000 ($670,000) in donations made to the far-right Reform UK party, widening a campaign-finance scandal that prompted party leader Nigel Farage to abruptly resign his parliamentary seat this week.
Police said on Friday they were probing potential offenses under party donation laws, including concealment of the true source of funds or providing false information to a party treasurer.
Detectives are scrutinizing two £250,000 ($335,500) donations made ahead of the 2024 general election by Fiona Cottrell, mother of convicted felon George Cottrell, a long-time financier of Farage’s political activities.
Authorities are investigating whether the funds originated from impermissible foreign or corporate sources. Police said two individuals have been interviewed under caution, though no arrests have been made.
The investigation is part of a broader financial cloud over Reform UK. Separate reports indicate banks flagged a further £1 million ($1.3m) transaction from Ms. Cottrell to a company run by Reform deputy leader Richard Tice to the National Crime Agency (NCA) over anti-money laundering concerns.
Tice on Friday dismissed the allegations as a “politically motivated smear campaign” and insisted no party officials had been interviewed.
Farage, a vocal former Brexit campaigner, abruptly announced this week he would resign his parliamentary seat and stand again, seeking a vote of confidence from voters in response to criticism over his finances. The by-election will take place on August 13.
By stepping down, Farage effectively paused a parallel parliamentary standards investigation into an undisclosed £5 million ($6.7m) he received ahead of the 2024 election from Thailand-based cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne, a major stakeholder in stablecoin Tether. Farage has given conflicting explanations for the money, alternately calling it a reward for campaigning for Brexit, a lifetime personal security fund, and an “unconditional gift” he could spend on “Ferraris or the horses”.
He has insisted he has “done nothing wrong”. Framing his campaign to return to his parliamentary seat with the phrase “the people versus the establishment”, the Reform leader said: “I’ve decided that the people of Clacton should be the judges of my actions.”
However, the country’s main political parties have condemned his move as a stunt to evade suspension and announced they would boycott the vote. Parody candidate Count Binface is Farage’s only opponent so far.
Source: www.aljazeera.com