Reform UK chair calls for probe into SBF-linked donation: Report

The chairman of the UK’s Reform party has called for an investigation following reports of a $50,000 political donation linked to former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried.

According to a Friday report from the Telegraph, Reform UK chair Lee Anderson called for the parliamentary commissioner for standards to probe Defense Secretary Wes Streeting over reported $50,000 in donations from a think tank in 2022 and 2023. The reported donations came from Labour for the Long Term, whose founder reportedly accepted a $675,000 gift from Bankman-Fried before sending funds to Streeting.

Notably, Reform leader Nigel Farage is set to face voters next week in a by-election triggered by his resignation as a member of parliament amid his own crypto scandal. The UK politician received $6.7 million in donations from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne and financial assistance from George Cottrell, a convicted fraudster linked to a crypto casino. Farage claimed that the contributions were “gifts.”

Under UK law, unincorporated associations are permitted to give more than $675 directly to politicians, according to the International Bar Association. The regulations offer a loophole for companies with business in the UK to be used as “conduits for foreign or dark money” to lawmakers without reporting the source of the funds.