According to Electoral Commission records published on September 3, BitMEX co-founder Ben Delo supplied £4 million, representing approximately 72% of Reform UK's second-quarter funding of £5.55 million. The contributions were made through two separate cash donations of £1 million on April 17 and £3 million on April 30, with Reform banked each payment the next day. As reported by Reuters, this brings Delo's total 2026 contributions to £8 million, having previously donated £2 million in January and £2 million in March. The latest Electoral Commission data shows Delo's donation amounted to 72% of all funds reported in the second quarter, demonstrating his continued dominance as the party's primary financial backer.
Reform UK demonstrated strong fundraising performance during the second quarter, collecting more private donations than both Labour and the Conservatives. According to Reuters, Labour received approximately £3.6 million while the Conservatives raised £2.8 million between April and June. The party declared 40 donations worth £5.55 million in total, with Delo's £4 million dwarfing every other gift in British politics that quarter. The largest donation from another source was £180,000, while Labour's biggest single gift was £550,000 from Lord David Sainsbury. However, the party's fundraising declined significantly from previous quarters, with Reform raising more than £9 million in each of the two previous quarters, indicating a 44% drop in total donations despite maintaining its position as the largest recipient of private political funding.
Delo announced his return to the UK from Hong Kong in 2026, stating he wanted to enter politics "to save Britain before decline becomes irreversible." As reported by Reuters, he had previously been charged with violating the Bank Secrecy Act over BitMEX's failure to maintain adequate anti-money laundering controls, pleading guilty in February 2022 and receiving a 30-month probation sentence and $10 million criminal fine. President Trump granted full pardons to Delo, along with other BitMEX co-founders, in March 2025. Delo was one of three figures tied to cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX who pleaded guilty to federal charges in the US related to violations of the Bank Secrecy Act.
The funding has drawn attention due to Reform's leader Nigel Farage's financial links to crypto figures, including a parliamentary inquiry examining whether Farage failed to declare a £5 million personal gift from crypto investor Christopher Harborne. According to Reuters, Harborne, previously Reform's largest financial backer, gave £3 million in January but appears nowhere in the Q2 register following UK government plans to limit political donations from overseas citizens to £100,000 annually. The government introduced a moratorium on cryptocurrency political donations in March, with Labour MP Matt Western calling for tighter controls on digital asset funding. In July, Labour MPs were reportedly considering making the crypto donation moratorium permanent in response to what Farage called "gifts" from Harborne and George Cottrell.
Reform UK has faced significant challenges despite maintaining its position as a leading political force. As reported by Reuters, Nigel Farage resigned his position as a member of parliament in July amid the crypto scandal, triggering a controversial by-election that Farage won 63% of the vote, ahead of satirical candidate Count Binface. The contributions tied to the crypto industry have raised questions from many lawmakers about the influence of digital assets on UK politics. The party has only eight members of parliament but led opinion polls in Britain for most of the past two years, until the resignation of Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his replacement by Andy Burnham in July revived the fortunes of the governing Labour Party. Reform's fundraising has been particularly affected by the government's plans to tighten rules on political donations by British citizens who live abroad.
