According to The Sunday Times, UK reform leader Nigel Farage reportedly accepted gifts, which he did not publicly disclose, from a crypto trader convicted of fraud in the US.
The news reported on Saturday, Farage received talented staff, security, transportation and lodging from George Cottrell, an aristocrat involved in an overseas crypto casino who has been a close advisor to Farage for more than 10 years.
Farage he said in a statement on Sunday, saying he had “followed the rules” regarding Cottrell’s gifts he received before being elected as an MP in July 2024, and calling The Times’ report a “hit piece.”
This is the second time Farage has faced reports of undeclared gifts from wealthy figures linked to cryptocurrencies – an industry he championed in parliament that is coming under increasing regulatory scrutiny, with the Treasury in March temporarily banning political donations in cryptocurrencies.
Parliament’s standards watchdog launched an investigation in May into whether Farage failed to declare a gift of 5 million British pounds ($6.7 million) from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne, who partly owns stablecoin giant Tether.
Nigel Farage appears at the Bitcoin 2025 conference holding his party’s cryptocurrency project legislation. Source: Gage Skidmore
Farage argued that he did not have to declare Harborne’s gift because it was given to him to cover personal security costs before he became an MP.
Cottrell’s reported gifts include protection and operate of the house
The Sunday Times reported that Cottrell, who is involved in a gambling site called Tether.bet using the Tether (USDt) stablecoin, provided Farage with drivers and a security team made up mostly of former soldiers.
Cottrell is reported to have recruited and paid three staff to aid the reform leader on social media, and since the election he has been renting a five-story house near Buckingham Palace to Farage. A Reform source told The Times that Farage almost always stayed at his own home and did not regularly operate the property.
Farage recorded only one benefit from Cottrell after entering parliament – a benefit of just under 9,300 British pounds ($12,400) for travel, security and accommodation for the event in Belgium.
In 2016, Cottrell was arrested and charged in the US with 21 felonies for his role in a money laundering conspiracy. After a plea deal, he pleaded guilty to a single count of wire fraud and spent eight months in prison.
Farage reported alleged cryptocurrency lobbying
The Times report follows: report told The Guardian on Friday that the Standards Commissioner had been called to investigate whether Farage had lobbied the Bank of England to abandon its digital currency plans.
Related: Crypto billionaires are financing Nigel Farage’s pro-crypto party
Labor MP and chairman of the parliamentary anti-corruption group Phil Brickell briefed the commissioner on Farage, saying he “takes credit for persuading the Bank to soften its stance” on the central bank’s digital currency.
Brickell said Harborne “benefited from opposition to a state-backed digital currency that could compete with private stablecoins.”
“This is not an ordinary debate about cryptocurrency. It is about whether an MP who has received millions from one person should lobby for policies that could increase the value and profitability of this cryptocurrency [Reform] donor investment,” Brickell said.
Farage and Reform have advocated for cryptocurrencies, with the party publishing draft legislation last year that aims to make the UK “the world’s most crucial cryptocurrency hub.”
Reform was also the first British political party to accept donations in Bitcoin (BTC). Farage also proposed reducing capital gains taxes on cryptocurrencies from 24% to 10% and called on the Bank of England to create a Bitcoin reserve.
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