Reform UK’s £72m donations ‘entirely in line with the law’ Robert Jenrick saysReform UK has received two record-breaking donations of £36million from cryptocurrency billionaires
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Megan Howe, News Reporter1 minute ago
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Robert Jenrick has insisted that the combined £72 million donations from two crypto-billionaires to Reform UK “are entirely in line with the law”.
The treasury spokesperson said it was his understanding that the party will not have to hand back the two £36million donations from cryptocurrency billionaires Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne.
“These two donations are entirely in line with the law as it is and, as far as we know, what it is going to be in the future,” he told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg.
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The donations have given Reform a major boost after a summer dominated by scrutiny of the party’s finances, as Mr Jenrick said the money will enable Reform UK to be “battle ready” for a general election.
The treasury spokesperson denied suggestions by Kuenssberg that part of Reform UK’s agenda is “being very pro cryptocurrency” claiming he wanted to see “proper regulation” of cryptocurrency, which he described as being “a wild west in many respects”.
However, the shadow foreign secretary said the crypto industry “has backers in people who want to launder money”
Tom Tugendhat told Sky News that “the British people can’t be bought” and it was “an illusion that people can buy their way into public office”.
Mr Jenrick earlier repeated assertions that the donors have asked for nothing in return and would not receive honours under a Reform UK government.
He told Sky News’s Sunday Morning programme: “It enables us to do two things: be battle ready for the general election, whether it comes in a few weeks’ time or indeed two years’ time, and to prepare for government.”
He added: “They’ve asked nothing in return for their donations. We’re not like the Tory Party that hands out knighthoods and peerages to their donors.
“Nigel (Farage) has said this in the last few days: neither of these two individuals, nor anyone who donates to our party, is going to be on some honours list in the years ahead if we’re lucky enough to to be in government, and I can assure that.”
He added: “We’re very confident that these two donations are perfectly legal.”
Mr Jenrick called one of the donors, Ben Delo – who was pardoned last year by Donald Trump after a conviction for violating the US Bank Secrecy Act – a “very respected businessman”.
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