UK police probe donations to Farage’s Reform party

British police are investigating donations worth at least Stg500,000 ($A960,000) made to Nigel Farage’s populist UK Reform Party by the mother of a close political ally convicted of wire fraud, the Times newspaper reported.

Police said they were investigating potential offenses under laws governing donations to political parties; These may include concealing the source of funding or providing false information to a party’s treasurer.

A spokesperson for London’s Metropolitan Police said: “An investigation was launched in February 2025 following a referral to the Metropolitan Police by the Electoral Commission regarding donations made to a political party ahead of the 2024 UK general election.”

Police said two people were questioned but no arrests were made, without confirming the names of those involved in the donations under investigation.

Farage has been facing questions about his party’s funds and finances for weeks; these included undisclosed gifts from Cottrell, a cryptocurrency billionaire investor who has been 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 had no need to declare it.

The Times said the police investigation was examining payments George Cottrell’s mother, Fiona Cottrell, made to Reform ahead of the 2024 election.

Cottrell, a longtime political ally, went to prison in the US in 2017 after pleading guilty to wire fraud and now works in cryptocurrency.

Farage, a Brexit campaigner, abruptly announced on Tuesday that he would resign his parliamentary seat and stand again, seeking a vote of confidence from voters to respond to criticism about his finances.