Nigel Farage resigns parliament seat as crypto scandal unfolds

The British government of outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer is doing everything it can to block a future election victory of the right-wing, anti-immigration party Reform UK (led by Nigel Farage).

A law is set to be passed soon that will make it difficult for Nigel Farage’s donors, all crypto-billionaires, to transfer funds to him in the future.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage says he will resign as an MP to trigger a by-election and stand again, as he faces scrutiny over his finances and a parliamentary watchdog investigation into a £5m gift from a crypto billionaire. pic.twitter.com/4YetvWr6fC

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) July 7, 2026

Following an article in The Times this week that revealed how Farage funded his political party with crypto donations, he himself stepped down as an MP yesterday.

Tether

From now on, scrutiny will focus not only on the donations made to Farage by crypto-billionaire Christopher Harborne (a major Tether shareholder) but also on the funds he received from a convicted crypto investor—money he failed to declare upon taking his seat in the House of Commons.

🇬🇧 NEW: Reform UK’s Nigel Farage failed to declare funding from George Cottrell, a convicted fraudster linked to crypto bookmaker Tether(.)bet, per Sunday Times. pic.twitter.com/wbnl2ZXGZb

— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) July 6, 2026

The issue concerns funds provided to Farage by his advisor and friend George Cottrell, known in London as “Posh George.” Cottrell is a British aristocrat who was convicted of fraud in the United States but was released early.

Funded by crypto billionaires and convicted criminals. What else does Nigel Farage have to hide? pic.twitter.com/M12P78qwXj

— The Labour Party (@UKLabour) July 7, 2026

Back in 2016, Cottrell was charged with 21 criminal offenses regarding his alleged role in a “dark money” laundering scheme. He pleaded guilty to wire fraud and served a prison sentence in Arizona. He is currently seeking a pardon from Donald Trump.

The Starmer government is therefore attempting to introduce rules that would make it impossible for foreign donors to transfer funds directly to political parties in the United Kingdom.

According to all political polls, Reform would become the biggest political party if an election were held today.