Farage with his partner, Laure Ferrari, in Westminster on Wednesday. He received the £5m gift shortly before announcing he would stand in the 2024 election. Photograph: WPA/Getty Images
Watchdog to examine whether Reform UK leader should have declared sum he received before entering parliament
Nigel Farage is facing a formal investigation by the parliamentary standards watchdog over a £5m gift from the crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne.
The Reform UK leader received the money weeks before announcing he would stand as a candidate in the 2024 general election.
Farage has said the gift, first revealed by the Guardian, was intended to cover his personal security costs and therefore did not need to be declared. However, other parties argue that the money from the Thailand-based businessman falls within rules requiring MPs to declare any potentially relevant gifts or donations received in the 12 months before entering parliament.
Daniel Greenbergh, the parliamentary commissioner for standards, is understood to have begun an investigation under rule 5 of the code of conduct obliging MPs to “fulfil conscientiously” requirements relating to their registration of interests.
It states that new MPs must register all their current financial interests, and any registrable benefits (other than earnings) received in the 12 months before their election. This must be done within one month of their election, and they must register any change in those registrable interests within 28 days.
If the investigation finds Farage committed a particularly serious breach of parliamentary declaration rules, he could be suspended from the Commons. A suspension of 10 days or more could trigger a recall petition, potentially forcing him to fight again for his Clacton seat.
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