Billionaire Ben Delo returning to UK from Hong Kong to donate millions to Reform UK
The British billionaire living abroad has vowed to return to the UK so he can continue donating millions to Reform UK.
Outsider Ben Delo has accused Sir Keir Starmer of creating a “rigged game” after an independent review into Labour’s election interference introduced a £100,000 annual cap on donations to political parties by Britons living abroad.
The 42-year-old, who co-founded a cryptocurrency trading platform, now lives in Hong Kong and reportedly donated £4 million to Nigel Farage’s party earlier this year.
Don’t write TelegramHe vowed to return to Britain to challenge the cap and give millions more to fund Reformation UK’s “war chest”.
“The government must not be allowed to get away with this. I will return to Britain early so that I can contribute more to the reform budget,” he wrote.
“I’d also urge other people who care about fair play and Britain’s future and are lucky enough to have plenty of money to contact me. Let’s build a war chest and win our country back.”
Sir Keir announced the cap following a review into election interference ordered after Reform England’s former leader in Wales, Nathan Gill, was jailed for accepting bribes to make pro-Russian statements while a member of the European Parliament.
Alongside the £100,000 limit, a temporary ban on cryptocurrency donations was also announced in a major blow to Mr Farage, whose party accepted several crypto donations last year, including £12 million from Thailand-based British investor Christopher Harborne.
The review warned that Iran, Russia and China were trying to “undermine” British democracy, that foreign interference was “real and persistent” and that the government should make it a “much higher” priority.
The party’s home affairs spokesman, Zia Yusuf, described the ban at the time as “a dark day for Britain”.
Referring to the report, Mr Delo said: “The whole thing is so inconsequential it would be laughable if it wasn’t part of Labor’s effort to stack the political deck against the most popular opposition party.
“Of course, the poison pill was among other, less controversial proposals, including one in which I support a moratorium on cryptocurrency political donations.”
He added: “I have enough experience with the complexities of crypto governance to believe that the UK Electoral Commission is not currently equipped to regulate it. I also know the difference between a straight bid and a rigged game.”
Mr Farage was forced to defend donations made by Mr Harborne in two payments of £9 million and later £3 million, insisting he “didn’t want anything from me”, according to the Electoral Commission.
But the payments raised concerns about political financing as Mr Farage publicly promoted Tether, the cryptocurrency company in which Mr Harborne is a shareholder, shortly after receiving the donation.
