British police investigate donations to Farage's Reform party

British police are investigating £500,000 in donations to Nigel Farage's Reform UK party, amid allegations of potential offences under laws governing party donations.

British police are investigating at least £500,000 ($671,300) in ​donations to Nigel Farage's populist Reform UK ​party that were made by ‌the ​mother of a close political ally convicted of wire fraud, the Times newspaper reported. Police said in a statement they were investigating ‌potential offences under laws governing donations to political parties, which could include concealment of the source of funding or giving false information to the treasurer of a party.

"An investigation was launched in ‌February 2025 after a referral was made to the Metropolitan Police by the Electoral Commission ‌relating to donations made to a political party ahead of the 2024 UK General Election," a spokesperson for London's Metropolitan Police said. Two people have been questioned but no arrests have been made, police added, without confirming ⁠the ​names of those involved in ⁠the donations under investigation.

Farage has been facing questions for weeks about his party's funds and his financial affairs, ⁠including undisclosed gifts from a cryptocurrency billionaire investor and Cottrell, who was convicted of fraud in the ​United States. Farage has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, saying he received the donation from the ⁠crypto investor before announcing his candidacy in the 2024 election, and therefore did not need to declare it.

The Times ⁠said ​the police investigation was looking at payments made by Fiona Cottrell, the mother of George Cottrell, to Reform before the 2024 election. Cottrell, a long-standing political ally, went to ⁠prison in the U.S. in 2017 after pleading guilty to wire fraud and now works in ⁠cryptocurrency.

Farage, a campaigner ⁠for Brexit, abruptly announced earlier this week that he would resign his parliamentary seat and run there again, seeking a vote of confidence ‌from voters ‌to answer criticism about his finances.