{"id":670223,"date":"2026-07-02T18:01:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T18:01:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/670223\/"},"modified":"2026-07-02T18:01:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T18:01:11","slug":"nigel-farage-reported-to-standards-watchdog-over-crypto-lobbying-nigel-farage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/670223\/","title":{"rendered":"Nigel Farage reported to standards watchdog over \u2018crypto lobbying\u2019 | Nigel Farage"},"content":{"rendered":"

The standards watchdog has been urged to investigate whether Nigel Farage lobbied the Bank of England<\/a> to drop a cryptocurrency plan that could be costly for the billionaire bankrolling his party, potentially in breach of parliamentary rules.<\/p>\n

The Reform UK leader has said his party\u2019s major donor, Christopher Harborne, wanted nothing in exchange for the \u00a315m he donated to the party and the undeclared \u00a35m gift to Farage the Guardian revealed in April<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But Farage used a private meeting at the Bank to urge its governor, Andrew Bailey, to drop plans for a state-run alternative to the digital currency that has made Harborne, his Thailand-based benefactor<\/a>, one of the richest people in the world.<\/p>\n

As reported by the Guardian last month<\/a>, Farage told October\u2019s Zebu Live event in London he regarded the Bank\u2019s plans for a digital pound with \u201ctotal and utter horror\u201d. He recounted the meeting at Threadneedle Street with Bailey. \u201cI asked him straight: \u2018Are you still progressing your plans for a British central bank digital currency?\u2019 And the answer was: \u2018Yes.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

His opposition to the \u201cBritcoin\u201d proposal was so strong that, after the meeting last September, he told the Zebu audience of crypto enthusiasts he would be \u201cprepared to go to prison\u201d to stop it.<\/p>\n

The Labour MP Phil Brickell, chair of the parliamentary group on anti-corruption and responsible tax, has now reported Farage\u2019s actions to the standards commissioner, asking him to look into the Reform leader\u2019s interactions with the Bank of England<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The standards commissioner, Daniel Greenberg, is already investigating whether Farage should have declared the \u00a35m gift from Harborne, which he received in the months before he returned to parliament.<\/p>\n

However, Brickell said this was a separate matter relating to the parliamentary lobbying rules, which are designed to stop MPs making approaches to public officials or ministers on behalf of companies or individuals that pay them.<\/p>\n

Speaking to the Guardian, Brickell said: \u201cFarage took a \u00a35m gift from Christopher Harborne \u2013 we know that. We also know that he has since used his platform, both publicly and privately, to advance positions that could benefit Mr Harborne\u2019s crypto interests.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore meeting the governor of the Bank of England, Farage openly championed Tether, criticised proposed restrictions on stablecoins and vowed to challenge the Bank\u2019s approach. He has since claimed credit for persuading the Bank to soften its position.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cThis is not simply a debate about cryptocurrency. It is about whether an MP who has received millions from one individual should be lobbying for policies that could increase the value and profitability of that [Reform] donor\u2019s investments. Mr Harborne is a major investor in Tether, a company that stood to gain from the weakening of stablecoin restrictions. Harborne also stood to benefit from opposition to a state-backed digital currency that could compete with private stablecoins.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe public will rightly ask whether these events are pure coincidence or a case of political influence being exercised on behalf of a billionaire backer. That\u2019s why I\u2019ve asked the standards commissioner to investigate and establish the facts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thw Bank of England governor, Andrew Bailey, has been asked by Labour to provide details of his meeting with Farage. Photograph: Hannah McKay\/Reuters<\/p>\n

Farage and Harborne have both previously said that Harborne asked for nothing in return for the gift. Farage said at first that it was for security<\/a>, then that it was a reward for Brexit<\/a> and later that he could spend it however he liked<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At the same time, another Labour MP, Joe Powell, has written to Bailey requesting details of his meeting with Farage. The Bank has previously refused to release any minutes.<\/p>\n

In his letter seen by the Guardian, Powell wrote: \u201cThere is significant public interest in the meeting between yourself and Mr Farage, as the policy he was lobbying you on would directly benefit Christopher Harborne.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Powell went on: \u201cThese allegations are incredibly concerning. If accurate, they raise serious questions about transparency, democracy and the influence of major donors over UK financial policy.<\/p>\n

\u201cDecisions relating to the UK\u2019s financial system, including those involving bank digital currencies, must be made in the public interest and on the basis of rigorous, independent assessment, not shaped behind closed doors to benefit individual financiers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Powell asked Bailey to reveal what was said during the meeting with Farage and Tice, and whether any change in the Bank\u2019s crypto policy has resulted from their intervention.<\/p>\n

\u201cGiven the significance of these issues,\u201d Powell wrote, \u201ctransparency is essential to maintaining public confidence in both our political system and financial institutions\u201d.<\/p>\n

He has yet to receive a reply.<\/p>\n

The code of conduct states that lobbying rules apply for 12 months after the reward or consideration was received. Farage accepted the personal \u00a35m gift from Harborne just before the July 2024 election and took two lots of \u00a325,000 in political donations from him for trips to the US and the Chagos Islands in January 2025 and February 2026 respectively.<\/p>\n

Reform UK accepted \u00a315m in donations from Harborne between August 2025 and February 2026. Farage\u2019s meeting with the Bank of England governor was in September 2025.<\/p>\n

During previous reporting<\/a> a Reform spokesperson said: \u201cThis is utter rubbish. Nigel\u2019s only focus is on saving the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the time, a Bank spokesperson said Farage\u2019s meeting with Bailey was \u201cpart of the Bank\u2019s engagement with political representatives\u201d and acknowledged his \u201cdiffering view\u201d from the governor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The standards watchdog has been urged to investigate whether Nigel Farage lobbied the Bank of England to drop…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":670224,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[59,57,58,50,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-670223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-kingdom","tag-gb","tag-great-britain","tag-greatbritain","tag-news","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/670223","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=670223"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/670223\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/670224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=670223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=670223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=670223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}