PEP Talk: Bankers Snitch £5M Farage Gift From Tether's Harborne to NCA 💷

Bankers filed a suspicious activity report with the UK's National Crime Agency over a £5 million gift to Nigel Farage from Tether investor Christopher Harborne, the Guardian reported. The SAR, dated May 16, 2024, was submitted because bankers said they were unable to verify the ultimate origin of the funds, according to the Guardian. A SAR is not evidence of wrongdoing; it is a regulatory flag prompting the agency to review a transaction and determine whether further investigation is warranted.

Harborne, a British businessman based in Thailand, holds a 12% stake in USDT issuer Tether and was ranked sixth on the Sunday Times Rich List released Friday, with an estimated fortune of about $24.4 billion (£18.2 billion). He has separately donated millions of pounds to Reform UK. Farage told the paper he was unaware of the SAR and had "no reason to doubt the ultimate source of the money." He also said the information had been "illegally obtained" by the newspaper and said he was not aware of any discussions with the NCA about transactions involving him.

Banks apply enhanced scrutiny to transactions involving politically exposed persons, who are treated as carrying higher bribery and corruption risk under FCA guidance, which calls for a "risk-based and proportionate approach to PEPs when considering money laundering risks." According to the Guardian, Harborne's crypto holdings added to that banking risk because funds moving through cryptocurrencies are harder to trace.

Harborne's lawyers told the Guardian that Farage received the money on April 5, 2024. Financial industry sources cited by the paper said at least some of the £5 million arrived after May 23, 2024, the day Farage announced he would not stand in the general election, saying it was "not the right time for me," before reversing course days later to run in Clacton. The Guardian noted that timeline appears to clash with an account in a new book, "The Farage Factor" by Conservative peer Michael Ashcroft, which says Reform was already preparing to launch his candidacy by mid-May, having recruited a GB News producer to help promote a planned announcement event.

The NCA declined to confirm or deny to the Guardian that it had received any report, saying SARs are confidential and that breaching that confidentiality could amount to a "tipping off" offense under the Proceeds of Crime Act. Farage has described the money as an "unconditional gift" and is facing a parliamentary standards inquiry over the reported $6.7 million (£5 million) transfer from the crypto billionaire.