Nigel Farage will be investigated by Parliament’s ethics watchdog for accepting a £5m donation from a crypto billionaire.
Last month, it emerged that the Reform UK leader had received the undeclared gift from the Thailand-based crypto businessman Christopher Harborne.
Parliamentary rules require MPs to declare any “personal benefit” they have received in the 12 months before taking office, with Harborne giving Farage the money in early 2024 ahead of the general election.
The Reform leader has claimed the money was for his security and said he had no obligation to declare it because it was “purely private” and “wasn’t political in any sense at all”.
The Conservatives referred Farage to the standards commissioner at the end of April, with Tory Party chair Kevin Hollinrake saying at the time: “This stinks and Reform should come clean now.”
The commissioner, Daniel Greenberg, is now understood to have opened an investigation.
A Reform UK spokesman said: “Mr Farage’s office is in communications with the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.
“He has always been clear that this was a personal, unconditional gift and no rules were broken.
“We look forward to this being put to bed once and for all.”
This story is being updated