Reform UK Receives Largest Political Donation in British History from Tether Investor

Nigel Farage's party, Reform UK, has received a historic donation of $11.4 million (9 million) from a Thailand-based crypto investor, marking the largest single contribution ever made to a British political party by an individual donor.

Christopher Harborne, known as a shareholder in the parent company of the stablecoin issuer Tether, boosted Reform UK's total donations to over $12.9 million (10.2 million) for the period between July and September, according to figures released by the Electoral Commission on Thursday. This surpasses the Conservative Partys $5.8 million (4.6 million), Labours $2.7 million (2.1 million), and the Liberal Democrats $1.3 million (1 million) in the same quarter.

The donation highlights the growing influence of crypto-related funds in UK politics ahead of the upcoming general election. It also marks the first time since last years election that Reform UK out-raised the Conservatives, with Farages party leading in national opinion polls.

Reform UK has positioned itself as a champion of the cryptocurrency sector, with Farage pledging to cut capital gains taxes on digital assets and pressuring the Bank of England to create a Bitcoin reserve.

Harbornes contribution dwarfed other third-quarter donations, with the next largest being $1.3 million (1 million) from games programmer Jeremy Elliott San to the Conservatives, followed by $459,000 (362,625) from Unite to Labour, and $63,300 (50,000) from Neale Powell-Cook to the Liberal Democrats.

Harborne previously contributed $12.7 million (10 million) to Reform UK's predecessor, the Brexit Party, between 2019 and 2020. Reports indicate he was a shareholder in DigFinex, the parent company of Bitfinex and Tether, from 2017 to 2018, and invested through his alternate Thai identity, Chakrit Sakunkrit, via a British Virgin Islands-based entity.

Harborne later filed a defamation lawsuit over allegations in the Wall Street Journal that Tether and Bitfinex used false documents and shell companies to access the U.S. banking system. His lawyers state he owns approximately 12% of Bitfinex and Tether but holds no operational role in either company.

He reportedly accompanied former Prime Minister Boris Johnson on a September 2023 trip to Ukraine as an adviser, after previously donating $1.3 million (1 million) to Johnson, the largest contribution ever made to a single MP.

Although Harbornes donation was not made in cryptocurrency, it comes amid increasing scrutiny of crypto-related political contributions in the UK. Labour MP Pat McFadden has called for a ban on crypto donations due to concerns about illicit funding, while Reform UK has embraced digital assets, accepting Bitcoin, Solana, Ethereum, and USDC.

In October, the Electoral Commission announced plans to review regulations on crypto-based political financing.

Author: Jackson Miller