Crypto Billionaire Pardoned By Donald Trump Gives Reform UK £36 Million

A crypto billionaire who was pardoned by US president Donald Trump has given a record-breaking £36 million to Reform UK.

Party leader Nigel Farage said he was “honoured and humbled” to receive the money from Ben Delo, who recently re-located from Hong Kong to the UK in order to become a Reform donor.

It comes after the Metropolitan Police confirmed they have launched a probe into a Channel 4 investigation which appeared to show senior Reform officials discussing with a fake American donor how he could give money to the party.

Delo, a co-founder of cryptocurrency platform BitMEX, was last year given an unconditional pardon by Trump over a Bank Secrecy Act violation in the US.

He is now Reform’s largest donor, having previously been second behind another crypto billionaire, Christopher Harborne, who gave £9 million to the party last August.

Parliament’s standards watchdog is currently investigating a personal £5m gift Harborne gave Farage in 2024 which the Reform boss did not declare.

Deo’s £36m is the single biggest donation in the history of British politics.

Writing for the Telegraph newspaper, Delo said: “Unlike the people who express mock concern for the health of ‘our democracy’ while doing everything they can to keep it as a cartel, I want a fair fight and a level playing field.