Farage's Reform UK receives record £36m gift from pardoned crypto billionaire

A CRYPTOCURRENCY billionaire announced on Friday that he has donated £36 million to Nigel Farage's Reform UK, the largest gift in British political history, despite the party being mired in several funding scandals.

Ben Delo, co-founder of the BitMEX cryptocurrency exchange, said in a Daily Telegraph article that he had given Reform the record sum because it lacked the long-term financial backing of its more established rivals, ruling centre-left Labour and the centre-right Conservatives.

"Unlike the people who express mock concern for the health of 'our democracy' while doing everything they can to keep it as a cartel, I want a fair fight and a level playing field," he wrote.

Delo said he wanted to give Reform £1m a month until the next general election, due by mid-2029, and so had "front-loaded these donations" into a single £36-m payment. The 42-year-old, who pleaded guilty in the United States in 2022 to violating the Bank Secrecy Act but was pardoned by President Donald Trump in 2025, said the gift was to help the party "get ready for government".

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The crypto magnate had already given Reform £4m in two payments in January and March, according to data from Britain's election watchdog. Delo is based in Hong Kong but has vowed to relocate back to Britain ahead of a planned cap on donations from foreign donors proposed by Labour.

His latest gift smashes the previous reported record for a single donation from a living person to a UK political party, set last year by another crypto billionaire, Christopher Harborne, who gave Reform £9m. The record for a bequest remains the £10m left to the Tories by the late British businessman and politician John Sainsbury in 2022.

Founded in 2021 from the remains of Farage's pro-Brexit campaign, anti-immigration Reform had topped national opinion polls since early last year but has seen its lead slip to Labour in recent months amid multiple funding controversies. Prime minister Andy Burnham replacing Keir Starmer in Downing Street in July is also seen as having rejuvenated the ruling party's prospects.

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News of the mega-donation to Reform comes just days after police confirmed they had widened a criminal investigation into allegations it accepted illegal donations following fresh claims last week. That announcement increased pressure on Farage, who has endured months of intense scrutiny over his party's financial arrangements as well as a separate £5-million gift to him from Harborne.

Farage has insisted the money was for his security. Parliament's corruption watchdog is investigating the payment. The Reform leader, who has consistently denied any wrongdoing, told The Telegraph he was "honoured and humbled" that Delo had "shown such confidence" in the party.