Reform’s record breaking donations from crypto billionaires could end up being illegal as ministers look to tighten residency rules for political donors.
Over the weekend, Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne both announced separately that they would be giving £36m each to Nigel Farage’s party.
Delo said his donation would help Reform “prepare for government” and “spend less time trying to raise funds to compete on equal terms,” whilst Harborne described his donation as a “philanthropic gift to our country”.
However, the government is set to table amendments to its Representation of the People Bill going through the House of Lords within weeks that could mean both donations break the law.
Under the proposals, individual donors will have to prove their ongoing physical presence in the UK, in line with the residence requirements applied to other areas of government policy, such as tax status, the Guardian reports.
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Delo and Harborne have both previously been based overseas and there are questions about how long they have lived in the UK for.
Harborne has been based in Thailand but is registered to vote in the UK, whilst Delo said earlier this year he was moving back to Britain from Hong Kong.
On Monday, Farage seemed to concede that both billionaires could be thwarted by new restrictions, which the government would implement retrospectively.
Speaking to the BBC’s Chris Mason, Farage said the donations were compliant with the law “today.”
When he was asked whether the donations would fall foul of any upcoming law changes, Farage said: “Retrospectively declaring donations illegal – that simply cannot be.”
“You cannot confiscate money that has been given legally within the law as it stands,” he added.
In July, the government announced individuals returning to the UK from overseas will be subject to a £100,000 donation cap for at least a full calendar year to prevent the rules being dodged.
The £100,000 limit on overseas donations had been announced in March 2026. The government made clear that this would be implemented retrospectively from the date it was announced.
“The Government will amend the Representation of the People Bill to deliver these changes with retrospective effect,” it said at the time.
When asked by the BBC if Harborne and Delo had been UK residents as of 25 March, Farage told the BBC: “All I’m going to say is, with the law of the land as it stands, they are both compliant.”
On Monday, Reform’s deputy leader Richard Tice had been unable to specifically say when the two crypto tycoons had returned to the UK.
Farge has reacted with predictable anger to reports of retrospective law changes., saying Reform would advocate restricting the capacity of trades unions to give money to the Labour Party if the government pursued the idea.