BitMEX Co-Founder Ben Delo Gives Farage's Reform UK Another £4 Million
Ben Delo, BitMEX’s co-founder, has donated another £4 million to Reform UK, bringing his total support for Nigel Farage’s party to £8 million this year. Electoral Commission records show the money arrived in two April payments and made up most of Reform’s £5.33 million in quarterly donations. Reform raised more than Labour in the period, while the Conservatives reported more overall. The donation comes amid tighter UK rules requiring donors to be on the electoral register for 12 months to give over £100,000 annually. A Reform source said the party expects to keep the money. The payments were not in cryptocurrency, which Britain banned for political donations in March. Delo previously pleaded guilty in the U.S. over anti-money-laundering failures at BitMEX, later pardoned by Donald Trump. Reform’s funding is under scrutiny after senior figures quit over undercover footage about arranging donor funding, while regulators are also examining Farage’s disclosure of a separate gift from Christopher Harborne.
