UK politician Farage reported to standards watchdog for alleged crypto lobbying on behalf of major Tether investor.
Regulation & Gov ·
Labour MP Phil Brickell has reported Reform UK leader Nigel Farage to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, alleging he lobbied the Bank of England on cryptocurrency policy to benefit his largest donor. The complaint centers on a September 2025 private meeting where Farage reportedly urged Governor Andrew Bailey to abandon plans for a state-run digital pound. Farage has since claimed credit for persuading the Bank to soften its stance; the central bank last week dropped a proposed £20,000 cap on individual stablecoin holdings that he had publicly opposed.
The donor in question is Christopher Harborne, a British billionaire based in Thailand who holds a 12% stake in stablecoin issuer Tether. Farage accepted an undeclared £5 million gift from Harborne before the July 2024 general election, and Reform UK separately received £15 million from him between August and February. Parliamentary rules prohibit MPs from approaching officials or ministers on behalf of people who have paid them within a 12-month window. Both Farage and Harborne have stated the billionaire sought nothing in return, though the watchdog is separately investigating whether the £5 million gift should have been declared.
Farage had publicly championed Tether and criticized proposed stablecoin restrictions prior to meeting Bailey. A second Labour MP, Joe Powell, has written to the Bank requesting details of the meeting, arguing that financial system decisions must be made in the public interest rather than "behind closed doors to benefit individual financiers." It remains unclear how the standards investigation will proceed or what remedies may apply.