Reform UK receives $97 million from two cryptocurrency billionaires

The Reform UK party, led by Nigel Farage, received donations totaling $97 million from two cryptocurrency billionaires within 24 hours. The contributions were announced on Friday and Saturday in the United Kingdom, while the party is the subject of an investigation into the possible acceptance of illegal donations from abroad.

British billionaire Christopher Harborne announced that he had donated $48.7 million, equivalent to £36 million, describing the gesture as philanthropic. He said he was inspired to match the contribution made the previous day by Ben Delo, co-founder of the cryptocurrency trading platform BitMEX.

Nigel Farage publicly welcomed the donations and claimed that the two businessmen were not seeking personal benefits, but rather a government that would “fix” Britain. However, the contributions were announced shortly after the Metropolitan Police in London confirmed the opening of a criminal investigation into the party’s financing.

Reform UK is the successor to the Brexit Party. The party promotes hard-line positions on immigration and ranks second in national polls, with approximately 23.6% of voting intentions, behind Labour, which is credited with 25.3%. Although the party had previously led some polls, it is currently experiencing a slight decline.