The investigation into Nigel Farage over the non-disclosure of a £5m sum from a crypto billionaire has resumed, the website of Parliament’s standards commissioner has confirmed in an update.
Previously, the website stated that the process had been suspended from 8 July, when Farage resigned to stand for reelection in Clacton.
And now the investigation into Reform UK’s leader has been reopened now that he has returned to the House of Commons as an MP, as per the Commons website.
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As he faced weeks of intense scrutiny over the financial support he received before the 2024 general election, Farage resigned as an MP on 7 July this year.
What’s exactly being investigated – revealed
The investigation by the Parliament’s standard commissioner into the then-Clacton MP was launched in May, following his failure to declare a £5m gift he received.
This all occurred before becoming an MP in the 2024 general election, and the gift came from Thailand-based billionaire Christopher Harborne.
While MPs are allowed to accept gifts from donors, they are supposed to declare if these might reasonably be thought to influence their actions, including those in the 12 months before their election.
As there is an exemption for gifts that are “purely personal”, Farage has said he didn’t break any rules, while insisting he received the money for his personal security.
Further, he added that the £5m gift was entirely unrelated to his last-minute decision to run to be an MP in the election.
How Farage received £5m thanks to Brexit
The waters were muddied in April however, when Harborne, speaking to The Telegraph, said he gave Farage the money “because of my great admiration for the decades of work he had done to achieve Brexit”.
Meanwhile, Sky News also revealed in May that Farage purchased a £1.4m house in cash shortly after receiving Harborne’s £5m – in May 2024.
The Guardian also reported that Farage held discussions with senior Reform figures just a few months before the 2024 election, explicitly stating he would need £1 million a year to ‘cover his losses’, should he serve as an MP over a five-year term.
Amid mounting pressure over his finances, Farage announced he would resign as an MP and call a by-election, amid mounting pressure over finances.
If the Reform UK leader is found to have fallen foul of the rules, he faces being suspended from the Commons and this could trigger another by-election if enough constituents in Clacton sign a recall petition.