Labour party chair Anna Turley has described as “astonishing and deeply serious” the revelation that a £5m gift to Nigel Farage by a cryptocurrency billionaire was reported to the National Crime Agency (NCA) by bankers concerned it may have been laundered money. The Guardian reported that bankers raised a suspicious activity report (SAR) over the gift from donor Christopher Harborne on 16 May 2024 with the NCA. A SAR is not proof of wrongdoing but an invitation for the agency to examine the transaction.
Turley Calls for Cooperation
Turley called on Farage to “come clean and cooperate” with the NCA. She said: “This is an astonishing and deeply serious allegation. The circumstances surrounding Nigel Farage’s secret £5 million ‘gift’ absolutely stink. Farage is engulfed in a major sleaze scandal and his attempts to distract won’t wash with the public. He’s desperately flailing and can’t get his story straight, and working people will conclude he’s just in it for himself. The Reform leader must finally come clean. He should publicly commit to cooperating with the National Crime Agency, fess up to the parliamentary watchdog over his finances, and face the consequences.”
Farage's Response
Farage had been given a deadline of 1pm on Tuesday to respond to the Guardian before it reported the SAR. He gave a video address at 2pm announcing he would force a byelection in Clacton-on-Sea by resigning his seat. All other main parties have said they will boycott the contest. In correspondence with the Guardian, Farage said he did not know about the SAR and added: “I have no reason to doubt the ultimate source of the money.” He has consistently denied any wrongdoing. Harborne’s lawyers claimed Farage received the money on 5 April 2024 but did not provide a substantive response to detailed questions.
Reform UK Deputy Leader Accuses NCA of Leak
On Wednesday morning, Reform’s deputy leader, Richard Tice, accused the NCA of leaking financial information to the Guardian. “You know, I’ve got the National Crime Agency who have leaked to the Guardian copies of my company bank statements, individual bank transfers, private conversations between my bankers and myself,” he told Times Radio. “We’ve literally got criminality going on at the most senior crime agency in the land, which I’m obviously pretty upset about.”
Timing of the Gift and Farage's Explanations
Farage has given differing explanations about what the money from Harborne was for, insisting he had no obligation to disclose it because he was not a politician at the time. According to financial industry sources, Farage received at least some of the £5m after he had announced on 23 May 2024 that he was not going to stand for parliament, saying it was “not the right time for me”. The balance of the money was received shortly before he changed his mind and announced on 3 June 2024 that he would run for the seat of Clacton, in Essex.
NCA and Byelection Developments
A spokesperson for the NCA said: “The NCA does not confirm or deny the receipt of SARs, nor comment on how any SAR is used. SARs are confidential and breaching that confidentiality risks committing a tipping-off offence under the Proceeds of Crime Act.” The Clacton byelection appears set to go ahead despite calls by the Liberal Democrats for it to be delayed until after a parliamentary investigation. Lib Dem leader Ed Davey said: “The government can decide whether [Farage is] allowed to resign and whether there is this unnecessary byelection, and whether he escapes this investigation.” However, foreign secretary Yvette Cooper told the BBC’s Today programme: “My expectation is that there will be a total waste of a time byelection because one man wants to duck and dive around the rules.” Reform UK has been approached for a response to Turley’s comments.
