Blaming the British establishment and media for revelations about his connections to crypto billionaires and convicted aristocrats, Nigel Farage resigned as an MP on Tuesday before announcing his intention to compete in the resulting by-election.
Over the weekend, the Sunday Times revealed that George Cottrell, a 32-year-old aristocrat and convicted felon who previously faced 20 years in US prison for 21 counts related to money laundering, fraud, blackmail and extortion, paid for security and social media staff for Farage in the year before he became an MP.
The paper described “Posh George” as Farage’s “closest adviser for more than a decade”, reporting that the crypto gambler travels with the Reform UK leader in Westminster and around the country.
These revelations follow those relating to Christopher Harborne, a billionaire who gave Farage £5m in early 2024, months before he was elected MP for Clacton, Essex, in the east of England.
Cottrell is connected to Harborne through Tether.bet, an online bookmaker and casino that also has its own digital currency, which is part-owned by Harborne, who is based in Thailand.
