Reform UK receives a record £36 million donation from Ben Delo

新融资指标

Reform UK has received a £36 million donation from British cryptocurrency entrepreneur Ben Delo, the largest individual political contribution reported in the country. The payment makes Delo Britain’s largest political donor by a wide margin and gives Nigel Farage’s party substantial resources ahead of the next general election. Reform confirmed the contribution after other newspapers approached the party about it.

Delo co-founded the BitMEX cryptocurrency platform and moved back to Britain from Hong Kong. In the United States, he was convicted in 2022 for failing to implement adequate anti-money-laundering controls and was later pardoned by President Donald Trump. The Guardian reports that Delo had already given Reform £8 million during 2026, making the new contribution part of a much larger financial commitment.

The donation arrives during a politically sensitive debate over who may finance British parties and how large contributions should be treated. Reform has said it is confident that Delo satisfies the applicable requirements and will not have to reclaim the money. The available reporting does not establish that the £36 million was unlawful, and the existence of proposed restrictions should not be confused with a final adverse finding about this contribution.

规则已经改变了

The government’s Representation of the People Bill would tighten checks on political money. Official policy material says recipients of larger donations would have to assess the risk of foreign or illicit funding, while companies would need to demonstrate a substantive UK or Irish connection. Separate changes introduce a £100,000 annual cap for overseas electors and a minimum-residency safeguard for people returning to Britain.

这些措施主要专注于外国影响力、公司资格和捐赠者验证。 它们不等于每位居民个人捐赠者的普遍100,000英镑天花板。 政府表示,它还正在考虑如何处理极大国内捐款,但部长们没有解决总体问题。 这个未解决的区别是由德洛的贡献创造的政治争端的核心。

政治后果

为了改革,这笔资金可以资助员工、广告、数据运营和组成组织,在以前与英国成立的政党相关的规模。 对于议会来说,它正在立即测试是否正在进行的立法对集中政治影响的公众担忧,而不会阻止合法参与。 接下来的证据点将是正式向选举委员会披露,对捐赠者可行的任何评估以及通过议案通过的提议修正案。