Nigel Farage’s Reform UK received just shy of £5 million from 17 global financiers and businesspeople in the second quarter of this year, DeSmog can reveal.

The party has been embroiled in scandal after an undercover investigation by Verbatim Investigations, broadcast by Channel 4, appeared to show the party conspiring to accept donations from foreign sources.

Two of Reform’s most senior figures have now resigned following the documentary, though both deny wrongdoing – as does the party. The Metropolitan Police has launched an investigation into whether any laws were broken.

There’s no suggestion that the new donations revealed by DeSmog are illegal. Donations from overseas sources are allowed if the individual is on the UK electoral register or if the business is based in the UK. An overseas company can also donate via a UK subsidiary.

However, this new analysis further demonstrates Reform’s reliance on backers who have extensive foreign funding streams.

James Orr, the party’s now-former head of policy, told Verbatim’s undercover reporter: “We just don’t have British resident donors, British entities, that would support us. That’s the grim reality.”

The party has previously come under fire for accepting more than £15 million from Thai-based crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne, who also gifted £5 million to Farage prior to the 2024 general election.

Meanwhile, one of Farage’s closest aides, George Cottrell, is a Montenegro-based crypto trader and convicted fraudster. Cottrell’s mother Fiona is believed to have been interviewed by police investigating £1.5 million in donations to Reform. Fiona Cottrell hasn’t responded to requests for comment about these investigations, and there is no current basis to conclude that the donations were improper. 

Reform’s latest backers include a Monaco-based former Lehman Brothers executive, an investment firm in business with the UAE, and a Nigerian-Lebanese billionaire.

Tom Brake, who runs the campaign group Unlock Democracy, said that our new analysis “underlines why we need an immediate, strict cap on political donations.”

He added: “This is the only foolproof measure that can protect the integrity of UK politics from undue influence from foreign or domestic sources.”

Campaigners and MPs are urging the Labour government to introduce an annual cap on political donations, arguing that a small number of wealthy backers have vast influence on our democracy.

Under Keir Starmer’s leadership, the government introduced a £100,000 annual limit on donations from those living overseas, though Andy Burnham’s new administration is coming under intense pressure to extend the cap to UK-based donors.

The government has pledged to “tackle the issue of mega-donors in UK politics” as soon as possible, though there has been speculation that it won’t support a cap on the amount that can be given by domestic donors.

As DeSmog has revealed, Farage has personally received at least £675,000 from foreign sources since becoming an MP. Second jobs and gifts are not subject to the same rules as party donations, so MPs can receive personal income from overseas individuals and entities with no links to the UK.

Who Funds Reform?

The new donations figures, released by the Electoral Commission last week, show that Reform received millions from more than a dozen members of the global financial elite between April and June.

Crypto trader Ben Delo gave £4 million to the party, adding to the donation of the same value that he gave in the first quarter of the year. Until recently based in Hong Kong, Delo was convicted in the U.S. in 2022 after pleading guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act by failing to implement adequate anti-money laundering controls at BitMEX, the trillion-dollar cryptocurrency exchange he co-founded.

In a recent Telegraph article, he wrote: “I helped build one of the world’s first major crypto trading platforms, fell foul of U.S. regulators, accepted a plea bargain and a civil fine for a regulatory failing that isn’t even a crime in the UK, but then ended up being pardoned by Donald Trump, the U.S. president, anyway.”

The party also received £100,000 from former Conservative Party backer Johan Christofferson. He runs a private investment firm that helps banks to minimise the risk of their loans. The company claims to manage roughly $10 billion in assets, has its headquarters in New York, and recently entered a new business partnership with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

As documented by DeSmog, Reform has close ties to the UAE, with Farage having received a £10,000 gift to attend the F1 Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi last December.

The party also received £100,000 in May from Roger Nagioff, an investment banker who worked as an executive at Lehman Brothers, the Wall Street giant that collapsed during the 2008 financial crash. A British national, Nagioff’s LinkedIn states that he’s currently based in Monaco.

Another £100,000 was given by William McIntosh, who runs the private equity firm Emerald Investment, which is based in London but claims to have “interests in real estate, hotels and leisure, healthcare, biotech and education, located in Europe, North America and Asia.”

The same amount was donated by Lucas Bitencourt, one of the co-founders of Arbra Partners, an asset management and wealth advisory firm with $2.5 billion in assets under management and a “global client base”. The firm claims to operate “across London, Geneva, and Lisbon”.

Bitencourt used to be the managing partner of Essence, a London-based firm that managed the “lifestyles and affairs of 40 billionaires and their families”.

Zia Yusuf, Reform’s home affairs spokesperson, also made his personal fortune running a concierge company that provided luxury experiences to the super-rich.

Reform received a further £180,000 from Bassim Haidar, a Nigerian-Lebanese billionaire. Haidar is a telecommunications and financial technology magnate whose wealth reportedly spans Africa, the Gulf and Europe. He has donated £750,000 to Reform and Farage personally since 2025.

Donations were also made by Nova Venture Holdings, a company belonging to Miami-based oil executive Jacques Tohme, the luxury real estate company Sotheby’s International, and Eldridge Capital Management – a New York-based asset management firm linked to the owners of Chelsea Football Club.

A spokesperson for Lucas Bitencourt said: “Mr Bitencourt made his donation in a personal capacity and in full compliance with UK electoral law. He is a British citizen, and the donation reflects his personal political views. The donation was reported by Reform UK to the Electoral Commission and was not made on behalf of Arbra Partners or any of its clients.”

Reform UK and all the named donors were approached for comment.