Ben Delo, cryptocurrency entrepreneur previously convicted in US but pardoned by Trump, gives Reform UK the largest political donation in British history.”,
Reform UK has secured a historic £36 million donation from British cryptocurrency billionaire Ben Delo, marking the largest single political contribution ever recorded in the United Kingdom.
The massive sum more than doubles the previous record, dwarfing the £15 million given to the party by Thailand-based donor Christopher Harborne.
Delo founded the cryptocurrency trading platform BitMEX and amassed his fortune in digital currencies. The Oxford graduate was convicted in the US in 2022 for failing to implement adequate anti-money laundering controls at his trillion-dollar business. President Donald Trump later pardoned him.
The donation comes at a sensitive time. Nigel Farage, Reform UK’s leader, currently faces a police investigation into alleged overseas funding violations, plus a parliamentary standards inquiry over a £5 million undeclared personal gift from Harborne. Will this overshadow Reform’s financial windfall?.
Farage welcomed the contribution, saying he’s “honoured and humbled” by Delo’s confidence in the party. Writing in The Telegraph, Delo explained he wants to ensure Reform gets a “fair fight” and should spend “less time trying to raise funds” and “more time preparing for government.
” The donation nearly matches Reform’s entire £38 million fundraising haul since launching in 2021, though the party still trails Labour’s £128 million and the Conservatives’ £150 million over the same period.
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