Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has landed in fresh trouble. He has been reported to Parliament's standards watchdog over allegations that he lobbied the Bank of England on cryptocurrency policy in a way that could hand a direct benefit to his biggest donor, a major investor in the stablecoin issuer Tether.
Phil Brickell, a Labour MP who chairs the parliamentary group on anti-corruption and responsible tax, has asked the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Daniel Greenberg, to examine Farage's dealings with the central bank. Parliamentary rules bar MPs from approaching officials or ministers on behalf of people who pay them, for 12 months after such a payment.
Brickell's Direct Challenge
"Before meeting the governor of the Bank of England, Farage openly championed Tether, criticised proposed restrictions on stablecoins and vowed to challenge the Bank's approach," Brickell said, adding that Farage "has since claimed credit for persuading the Bank to soften its position."
The complaint centres on a private meeting last September, at which Farage urged Governor Andrew Bailey to scrap plans for a central bank digital currency, or "Britcoin," an idea he has said he would go to prison to block. Farage later claimed credit for pushing the Bank to soften its approach, and last week it dropped a proposed £20,000 cap on individual stablecoin holdings that he had publicly attacked.
A Second MP Weighs In
A second Labour MP, Joe Powell, has written to Bailey to request details of the meeting. He argues that, "Decisions relating to the UK's 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."
Brickell says the case goes far beyond crypto. The real question, he argues, is whether an MP "who has received millions from one individual" should advance policies that could lift the value of that donor's investments.
Who Is Christopher Harborne
That donor is Christopher Harborne, a British, Thailand-based billionaire who holds a 12% stake in USDT issuer Tether and sits sixth on the Sunday Times Rich List.
The Reform UK leader accepted an undeclared £5 million ($6.7 million) gift from Harborne before standing in the July 2024 general election. At the time, Farage had not announced plans to run as a Member of Parliament, and the gift was undeclared to parliamentary authorities. Farage has even said he could spend the money "on Ferraris" if he wanted.
He also took two £25,000 political donations from Harborne, in January 2025 and February 2026, for trips to the U.S. and the Chagos Islands, while Reform UK received a further £15 million from the billionaire between last August and February. Greenberg is separately investigating whether Farage should have declared the £5 million personal gift.
What Farage and Harborne Say
Farage and Harborne have both said the billionaire wanted nothing in return. Yet Farage's account of the gift has shifted, from a contribution to his security, to a reward for his Brexit campaigning, to money he can spend as he likes. He has called it "unconditional" and "a purely private matter," while Reform UK has dismissed the broader allegations as "utter rubbish." Labour has also accused Farage of dodging scrutiny.
The Bank of England said the September meeting was part of its routine engagement with political figures. It acknowledged that Farage and Bailey held differing views on the digital pound, but has not released any minutes.
Farage has previously styled himself a "champion" for the cryptocurrency space. He has called for the UK to establish a Bitcoin strategic reserve and has pushed for lower capital gains taxes on digital assets.
