The two-year trail of financial controversy dogging Reform and Farage | Reform UK

1. Farage said he had ‘bought a house’ in Clacton – it’s actually owned by his girlfriend

In 2025, it emerged that Farage had not – as he had claimed – bought a property in his parliamentary constituency of Clacton, in Essex: it had in fact been bought by his girlfriend, Laure Ferrari.

The Reform leader said he had “exchanged contracts” to buy the house in Essex in November 2024, saying it should deal with criticism that he does not spend enough time in the constituency.

But it emerged the detached property in an upmarket part of Clacton-on-Sea was solely bought by Ferrari. It was alleged that this allowed him legally to avoid higher-rate stamp duty on the purchase of an additional residential house, given that he already owns other properties.

Farage’s solicitors provided a statement to say they had received advice from a leading tax barrister, which concluded the stamp duty was properly calculated and there was no improper tax evasion.

2. Farage was given an undisclosed £5m gift by crypto billionaire in 2024

The Guardian revealed in April 2026 that Farage was given £5m by the crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne shortly before announcing he would stand in the 2024 UK general election.

Farage had stated he did not intend to stand as a prospective MP but made a U-turn in June 2024, within weeks of receiving the personal gift from the Thailand-based businessman.

In July 2024, Farage became an MP for the first time and has since stated he aspires to become prime minister at the next general election.

The Reform leader maintains the gift was accepted in a personal and non-political capacity, and therefore did not need to be declared to parliamentary authorities. While his explanations for receiving the money have changed, he has most consistently stuck with “security” as the reason behind taking the cash.

Lawyers for Harborne have said he “expected nothing in return” for the gift and “did not envisage Mr Farage returning to politics”.

Harborne’s gift is the subject of an inquiry by parliament’s standards commissioner, which resumed last month after Farage won a byelection in Clacton.

3. Police investigate £500,000 donations from mother of fraudster who backed Farage

In July it emerged that the Met police are investigating donations worth £500,000 made to Reform UK by Fiona Cottrell, whose son George is a longtime aide to Farage and a convicted fraudster in the US.

The donations, in May 2024, are under investigation over whether they were intended to conceal a donation by an impermissible donor.

They appear to be separate to a deposit of about £1m that Fiona Cottrell made in June 2024 to a company run by Richard Tice, Reform’s deputy leader.

Later in July, the Guardian revealed George Cottrell transferred a total of more than $2m (£1.5m) to his mother in the days before her 2024 donations to the party.

Earlier that month, the Sunday Times revealed that Cottrell had provided funding for Farage’s operation, including for staffing, security and housing, and had recruited and paid three staff to work on Farage’s social media before the general election, and offered Farage the use of a five-storey Georgian townhouse he rented near Buckingham Palace.

Under rules in place at the time, new MPs were required to register any gifts worth more than £300 they had received in the previous 12 months, except where the gift “could not be reasonably thought by others” to relate to their political activities.

Fiona Cottrell has not responded to detailed questions from the Guardian about her financial involvement with Reform, while lawyers acting for George Cottrell refused to answer detailed questions from the Guardian about his financial ties to his mother.

Farage and Reform have said they have done nothing wrong.

4. Reform UK transactions worth millions reported to National Crime Agency

A host of transactions involving Reform UK’s most senior figures and donations to the party caused bankers to report potential money-laundering concerns to the National Crime Agency.

The Guardian revealed in July that the undisclosed £5m gift provided by Harborne shortly before the 2024 general election was reported to the NCA as well as transfers of funds between Tice, Fiona and George Cottrell.

Suspicious activity reports raised by bankers were passed to the NCA for examination.

Reform declined to comment. Fiona Cottrell has not responded to attempts to contact her. George Cottrell’s lawyers refused to respond to detailed questions.

5. Crypto billionaire pardoned by Trump gives Reform another £4m

It was reported in the Guardian this month that the British crypto billionaire Ben Delo – who was formerly based in Hong Kong – donated £4m to the party earlier in 2026.

Delo, who was convicted in the US in 2022 for failing to implement adequate anti-money-laundering controls in his cryptocurrency business, before being pardoned by Donald Trump, has previously given Reform another £4m, bringing the total to £8m.

It makes him the party’s second biggest contributor after Harborne, who has given £15m to the party since the last election, as well as £5m to Farage personally before May 2024.

In March, a rule was introduced that states donors must be on the UK domestic electoral register for at least 12 months to avoid being subject to a £100,000-a-year annual cap.

A Reform source said the party was confident it would not have to return any of Delo’s latest £4m, raising the prospect that he may have been on the UK domestic electoral register for longer than previously thought.

6. Reform officials ‘plotted to break law on foreign donations’ in undercover film

Reform suspended two senior officials on 4 September after they were filmed in an undercover investigation appearing to plot to get around electoral laws on foreign donations.

In a blow to Farage hours before his conference speech, the party said it had launched an investigation into the actions of James Orr, the party’s head of policy, and Dan Jukes, a senior aide to Farage, after the broadcast by Channel 4 News.

Jukes and Orr were filmed by a group of investigative journalists called Verbatim, founded by the Centre for Climate Reporting, allegedly helping to orchestrate a plot apparently to bypass election laws.

Farage said the party had done nothing wrong and no rules were broken, saying on LBC that polls were funded by foreign sources all the time.