Delo was pardoned by US President Donald Trump last year over a breach of anti-money laundering laws at his crypto trading platform, BitMex, to which he had pleaded guilty in 2022. Harborne, based in Thailand, registered to vote in the UK, according to The Times reporting. Both men had previously donated millions to Reform, with Harborne calling the party a “start-up” lacking the benefit of hundreds of years of patronage
in a Telegraph article. Delo, who had told the Telegraph in April that he was moving back from Hong Kong, wrote the day prior that he wanted to enable Reform to put up a fair fight at the next election
. The £72m from the two is more than the total received by all UK political parties last year.
Donors’ Background and Legal Scrutiny
Delo and Harborne each gave £36m to the party in two days, now sharing the record for the largest ever donation given to a UK political party. Conservative shadow foreign secretary Tom Tugendhat said it was important to ensure we do not end up with a sort of Americanisation of politics where money just sort of runs free
. He added that people should be able to support the democratic movements they wished but warned of where different industries, where different financial sources raise questions
. A Green Party spokesperson demanded more robust laws
around political donations, urging the Labour Party to urgently needs to find its spine and support a tight cap on donations from individuals
.
Reform’s fundraising has come under scrutiny in recent months. Police announced an investigation over allegations the party broke foreign funding laws in a broadcast by Channel 4 News last week. The party’s leader, Nigel Farage, is also under investigation by the parliamentary standards commissioner over whether he should have declared a £5m gift he received from Harborne ahead of the 2024 election. Both Reform and Farage have denied any wrongdoing in both instances. Robert Jenrick said he is confident the record funding of £72,000,000 is entirely in line with the law
in a video.
Rayner said the aim of proposed changes to political funding rules would be to protect our democracy in the spirit of individuals not being able to overpower and buy their way into democracy at the expense of those people that are at the ballot box
. She would not be drawn on whether the proposed changes would apply to Delo and Harborne, saying: I don’t know the individual circumstances of those donors
. Conservative shadow foreign secretary Tom Tugendhat echoed concerns about the influence of wealthy donors, stating that what we’ve got to be careful about is where different industries, where different financial sources raise questions
.
Political Reactions and Calls for Regulation
A Green Party spokesperson called for more robust laws
around political donations, emphasizing that The Labour Party urgently needs to find its spine and support a tight cap on donations from individuals
. Rayner reiterated her party’s stance on safeguarding democratic integrity, though she declined to comment on the specific circumstances of Delo and Harborne. Reform’s leader, Nigel Farage, has denied any wrongdoing in both the £5m gift investigation and the foreign funding allegations.
Reform’s fundraising has exceeded total donations to all UK parties last year. The party’s leader, Nigel Farage, has denied any wrongdoing in both the £5m gift investigation and the foreign funding allegations. The police investigation into foreign funding laws followed a Channel 4 News broadcast, while the parliamentary standards commissioner’s inquiry focuses on whether Farage should have declared a £5m gift he received from Harborne ahead of the 2024 election.
