Summary

  • Labour MP Phil Brickell has filed a complaint against Nigel Farage with the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, alleging that Farage lobbied the Bank of England on cryptocurrency matters to benefit his primary donor.
  • The allegation revolves around a private meeting in September 2025 where Farage is said to have pushed Governor Andrew Bailey to abandon plans for a government-backed digital pound.
  • Farage received an undeclared £5 million ($6.7 million) donation from Tether investor Christopher Harborne, who has also contributed an additional £15 million to Reform UK.

Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, has been reported to the standards authority in Parliament due to accusations that he engaged in lobbying activities with the Bank of England regarding cryptocurrency policies that might favor his major donor, a significant backer of stablecoin issuer Tether.

Phil Brickell, a Labour MP and chair of the parliamentary anti-corruption and responsible tax group, has urged the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Daniel Greenberg, to investigate Farage’s interactions with the central bank. Parliamentary guidelines prohibit MPs from lobbying officials or ministers on behalf of paying parties for a year following such payments.

“Before meeting the governor of the Bank of England, Farage was vocally supportive of Tether, criticized proposed limits on stablecoins, and pledged to contest the Bank's stance,” Brickell stated to the Guardian, adding that Farage “has since claimed to have influenced the Bank to ease its position.”

Discussion with the Bank

The complaint focuses on a private meeting from last September, during which Farage allegedly urged Governor Andrew Bailey to abandon the idea of a central bank digital currency known as "Britcoin," which he has claimed he would go to prison to prevent. Following that, Farage asserted that he had successfully pushed the Bank to reconsider its stance, and just last week, it abandoned a proposed limit of £20,000 on individual stablecoin holdings that he had publicly criticized.

Another Labour MP, Joe Powell, has contacted Bailey to seek details regarding the meeting, asserting that, "Decisions impacting the UK’s financial system, particularly those regarding digital currencies, must be conducted transparently and with thorough, independent evaluations, rather than being influenced in secrecy to favor specific financiers."

Brickell emphasized that this situation extends beyond cryptocurrency, questioning whether an MP "who has received millions from one person" should promote policies that could enhance the value of that donor's holdings.

The donor in question is Christopher Harborne, a billionaire based in Thailand, who owns a 12% share in Tether and ranks sixth on the Sunday Times Rich List.

Undisclosed Contribution

Farage accepted an undeclared £5 million ($6.7 million) donation from Harborne before he stood for election in July 2024. At that time, Farage had not yet revealed intentions to run for Parliament, and the donation was not disclosed to parliamentary authorities.

According to the Guardian, he also received two donations of £25,000 from Harborne in January 2025 and February 2026 for trips to the U.S. and the Chagos Islands, while Reform UK benefited from an additional £15 million from the billionaire between last August and February. Greenberg is also looking into whether Farage should have disclosed the £5 million personal donation.

Both Farage and Harborne have maintained that the billionaire expected no favors in return, while Farage's explanation of the donation has evolved: from a security contribution, to a reward for his Brexit efforts, to funds he can use at his discretion. He has labeled it "unconditional" and "a private affair," while Reform UK has dismissed the broader claims as "complete nonsense." The Labour Party has also accused Farage of evading scrutiny.