Labour party chair Anna Turley has described the revelation that a £5m gift to Nigel Farage from a cryptocurrency billionaire was reported to the National Crime Agency (NCA) over money laundering concerns as “astonishing and deeply serious.” The Guardian reported that bankers raised a suspicious activity report (SAR) with the NCA on 16 May 2024 regarding the donation from Thailand-based Reform donor Christopher Harborne.
Labour Calls for Cooperation
Turley urged Farage to “come clean and cooperate” with the NCA, stating: “The circumstances surrounding Nigel Farage’s secret £5m ‘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.” She demanded that Farage publicly commit to cooperating with the NCA, confess to the parliamentary watchdog over his finances, and face the consequences.
Farage's Response and Byelection Announcement
Farage had been given a deadline of 1pm on Tuesday to respond to the Guardian before it reported the NCA referral. 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. Farage has consistently denied any wrongdoing, stating: “I have no reason to doubt the ultimate source of the money.”
Details of the Suspicious Activity Report
An SAR is not proof of wrongdoing but an invitation for the NCA to examine the transaction for potential investigation. It is not a crime report. In correspondence with the Guardian, Harborne’s lawyers claimed Farage received the money on 5 April 2024. According to financial industry sources, Farage received at least some of the £5m after he announced on 23 May 2024 that he would not stand for parliament, saying it was “not the right time for me.” The balance was received shortly before he changed his mind on 3 June 2024 to run for Clacton.
Reform Deputy Leader Accuses NCA of Leaking
On Wednesday morning, Reform UK’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.”
Farage's Explanations and NCA Stance
Farage has given differing explanations about the purpose of the money, insisting he had no obligation to disclose it because he was not a politician at the time and claiming it had no bearing on his decision to stand in the 2024 general election. Asked about the SAR, Farage repeated his claim that the information had been obtained illegally and said he was not aware of any “discussions” with the NCA about transactions he had been involved with. An NCA spokesperson 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.”
Byelection Controversy
The Clacton byelection appears set to go ahead despite calls by the Liberal Democrats for a delay until a parliamentary investigation into the £5m gift is completed. Lib Dem leader Ed Davey said the government could decide whether to allow the resignation and byelection, or whether Farage escapes investigation. However, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “My expectation is that there will be a total waste of time byelection because one man wants to duck and dive around the rules.”
