Britain's Parliamentary Standards Commissioner is launching a formal inquiry into whether Reform UK leader Nigel Farage broke Commons rules by accepting a £5 million gift and failing to declare it, the BBC reported Wednesday.
The gift came from Christopher Harborne, a British cryptocurrency investor based in Thailand who has become one of Reform UK's biggest financial backers. Harborne gave a single donation of £9 million to Reform UK last year, the largest donation to any UK political party by a living person, and gave a total of £12 million to the party in 2025. He has also donated to the Conservatives in the past.
Farage has said he was under no obligation to declare the gift because it was given before he was elected to Parliament in 2024. Reform UK released a statement saying: "Mr Farage's office is in communications with the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. He has always been clear that this was a personal, unconditional gift and no rules were broken. We look forward to this being put to bed once and for all."
His opponents disagree. The Conservatives wrote to the standards watchdog to raise the matter and also brought concerns about the gift to the Electoral Commission, which said it was considering the information. A Conservative Party spokesman said £5 million was "more than most people will earn in a lifetime," adding: "Nigel Farage needs to explain how he got it, why he got it, and why he didn't declare it. If there is a simple answer then he should welcome these investigations. But like so often with Reform, there is something very fishy about the whole story."
Labour Party chair Anna Turley also weighed in, saying: "Nigel Farage has been avoiding legitimate questions since news of his billionaire backer's 'gift.' It's right that he faces a proper investigation."
The Commons code of conduct requires new MPs to register all current financial interests and any registrable benefits received in the 12 months before their election, within one month of taking their seat. The rules state that purely personal gifts from family or commercial loans would not normally need to be registered, but add that both the possible motive of the giver and the intended use of the gift should be considered. The rules specify that "if there is any doubt, the benefit should be registered."
This is not the first time Farage has faced scrutiny over financial disclosures. In January, he was found to have failed to register £384,000 in interests on time. Standards commissioner Daniel Greenberg concluded it had been an "inadvertant" breach and allowed Farage to update his register through the rectification procedure without sanctions.
Potential punishments for breaking the code of conduct range from a written or oral apology to suspension from the House of Commons or, in the most serious cases, expulsion.
