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Nigel Farage's biggest backer asked an associate to donate £50,000 on his behalf to make it appear the Brexit party had a wider donor base, according to messages seen by the Financial Times.
Businessman Christopher Harborne told The Associate in 2019 that he wanted to avoid giving the impression that FarageThe party, later renamed Reform UK, had only one big support in that year's British general election.
Harborne, an aviation entrepreneur and crypto investor, said in the messages: “I would like to ask if I can offer you some money to then donate to the party.” He told the associate there were no legal or tax issues.
The money was ultimately not offered and no donations were made by the associate, according to people briefed on the matter.
Harborne donated more than £10 million in his own name to the Brexit Party in 2019 and 2020, making him the party's biggest donor during that period, according to Electoral Commission records.
He had agreed with Farage to cover the party's election costs in 2019, the businessman said in the messages.
A spokesperson for Harborne said: “All of Mr. Harborne’s political donations and disclosures regarding those donations, including throughout 2019, were made in full compliance with electoral laws. »
The Reform Party did not respond to a request for comment.
The Electoral Commission said that in general, it is an offense to make a donation in another person's name without providing details of the real donor.
He said that both the donor and the intermediary can be considered to have committed an offense if the true identity of the donor is concealed.
Gavin Millar KC told the FT that Harborne's exchange with his associate suggested the “real donor” had “intent to deceive” the party by registering the intermediary as a donor.
UK electoral law allows people to make donations on behalf of others provided the true donor is revealed.
Harborne, born in Britain but living in Thailand, founded aviation fuel company AML Global and is an investor in crypto exchange Bitfinex and stablecoin issuer Tether.
He is also the largest shareholder in British defense company Qinetiq, which has contracts with the British government.
Harborne is known as Chakrit Sakunkrit in Thailand.
As well as supporting Farage, Harborne is a long-time donor to the British Conservative Party. He donated £1.8 million to the Conservatives between 2003 and 2022.
Harborne also gave £1million to former Conservative leader Boris Johnson after he resigned as Prime Minister. The donation, in November 2022, was made to The Office of Boris Johnson Ltd, Johnson's private office.
The Brexit Party grew in popularity throughout 2019, peaking in June when around a quarter of the population said they would vote for the party, according to a YouGov survey at the time.
Ultimately, Farage did not field candidates in the 317 seats held by the Conservatives to ensure that the then Labor leader, Jeremy Corbyn, did not win the December 2019 poll. Where the Brexit Party was running for seats, he dented the Labor vote, helping to keep Corbyn out of power.
Reform UK did not repeat this decision in the 2024 UK general election, contributing to the Conservative Party's worst ever electoral defeat by Sir Keir Starmer's Labor Party.
Farage's biggest donors this year were party chairman Zia Yusuf, businesses owned by Reform Party deputy leader Richard Tice and financier Jeremy Hosking.
The Electoral Commission database does not record any donations from Harborne since 2022. But in July this year, Harborne paid for a private jet flight and accommodation for Farage and himself to visit Donald Trump , then a presidential candidate, in the United States, following the assassination attempt on his life. .
The trip was valued at £33,000, according to the parliamentary register of MPs' interests.
If you have information relating to this article, please contact anna.gross@ft.com
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