Reform mega-donor Ben Delo named in Bitcoin “theft” lawsuit

By Daniel Bates and Peter Geoghegan

A crypto exchange co-founded by Ben Delo, the billionaire behind a record £36 million donation to Reform UK, is accused in a recently filed US lawsuit of systematically trading against its own customers and allegedly keeping Bitcoin that should have been returned to them.

Speaking to Democracy for Sale, Daniel Charest, a US-based lawyer representing clients in a class action against BitMEX filed in New York in July, said he believed the exchange’s conduct was “illegal, unethical and immoral”.

The case names Delo as a defendant alongside BitMEX co-founders Arthur Hayes and Samuel Reed, and seeks the return of nearly 623 Bitcoin, worth about $40 million at today’s prices.

BitMEX’s chief executive, Peter Wilkinson, said that “since 2020, BitMEX has faced and successfully defended over 20 spurious claims, including 12 in the United States” and the company “looks forward to vigorously defending itself against this latest set of spurious and opportunistic claims.”

Delo’s £36 million pledge to Nigel Farage’s party, announced in September, is the largest political donation on record in Britain. Fellow crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne followed with a donation of the same size. In all, Reform has now received more than £100 million from the two men.