UK police probe Reform UK donations from fraudster's circle
Reform UK is facing a criminal investigation and parliamentary scrutiny into its core funding network, threatening the financial foundation of a party that hopes to govern Britain.
The Metropolitan police have interviewed two people under caution as part of a criminal investigation into donations to Reform UK, including a £1 million sum routed through a fundraising vehicle controlled by deputy leader Richard Tice.
The money originated from Fiona Cottrell. In June 2024, she secretly gave £1 million to a Reform fundraising vehicle controlled by Tice, with £500,000 transferred to the party almost immediately despite banker queries about its origin. These donations followed shortly after she received more than $2 million from her son, George Cottrell.
George Cottrell is a convicted fraudster based in Montenegro and an unofficial, long-term adviser to party leader Nigel Farage. He also provided a £78,100 "bridging loan" to Tice’s company, Tisun Investments, which was repaid only after Tisun donated £613,000 to Reform.
These transactions form a financially and politically interconnected network that bankrolls the party. Aside from the Cottrell family, the circle relies heavily on Christopher Harborne, who gave Farage a £5 million gift in April 2024. Harborne’s lawyers insist the gift was unconditional.
Court documents have also alleged Cottrell acted as a frontman for Tony Bloom’s betting syndicate and held a financial interest in Tether.bet, an offshore gambling outfit that did not hold a UK gambling licence. Cottrell’s lawyers have denied he was a director or shareholder of the platform.
The opaque nature of these overlapping personal finances triggered internal alarms across several banks. Concerned staff reported the suspicious transactions involving senior party figures directly to the National Crime Agency.
Farage himself has faced questions about his sudden accumulation of property since declaring he was "skint" in 2017. When asked by the BBC what he did with Harborne’s £5 million—part of which arrived just before he announced his 2024 candidacy—Farage replied: “Literally none of your business.”
The legal exposure carries significant implications. A party that has rapidly disrupted the British political landscape is now showing deep financial vulnerabilities. For businesses monitoring UK stability, the mounting police and parliamentary probes into Reform's core funding network present a tangible layer of political risk ahead of the autumn investigations.
