Reform UK leader Nigel Farage received extensive undisclosed financial support from George Cottrell, a convicted fraudster involved in an offshore crypto gambling platform, and appears to have breached MPs' disclosure rules by failing to declare it, according to a Sunday Times investigation published this weekend.
The newspaper reported that Cottrell paid for Farage's private security, drivers, social media staff and accommodation in the year before his election as MP for Clacton on July 4, 2024. Cottrell confirmed through lawyers that he hired staff for Farage's private office and paid them by bank transfer, per the report.
House of Commons rules require newly elected MPs to register benefits worth more than £300 received in the 12 months before their election if they relate "in any way" to their political activities, though purely personal gifts are excluded. Farage reported a £9,253 trip to Belgium funded by Cottrell and a later £15,276 flight donation, and no other support from him.
Cottrell, 32, was arrested in 2016 at Chicago's O'Hare airport while traveling with Farage, and served eight months in prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud in a money laundering sting. He later moved to Montenegro, where The Sunday Times described him as a key player in Tether.bet, an offshore bookmaker that accepts large wagers in cash or crypto, including Tether's USDT stablecoin.
