Nigel Farage Linked To Crypto Gambling Row

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is facing renewed political pressure after The Sunday Times reported that he failed to declare extensive financial support from George Cottrell, a convicted fraudster with ties to the offshore crypto gambling industry.

What Cottrell Allegedly Paid For

Farage received extensive undisclosed financial support from Cottrell, a convicted fraudster involved in an offshore crypto gambling platform, and appears to have breached MPs' disclosure rules by failing to declare it, according to the Sunday Times investigation. Cottrell recruited and paid three staff to work on Farage's social media before the general election. He also covered drivers, security personnel and accommodation costs, paying staff by bank transfer, the report said.

Under rules in place at the time, new MPs were required to register any gifts worth more than £300 they received in the previous 12 months, except where the gift "could not be reasonably thought by others" to relate to their political activities. Farage disclosed only two payments from Cottrell, both travel-related: a £9,253 trip to Belgium and a later £15,276 flight donation. Cottrell has continued to allow Farage to use a five-storey Georgian townhouse he rented near Buckingham Palace.

Cottrell's Background and the Tether(.)bet Connection

Cottrell was arrested in 2016 at Chicago's O'Hare airport while traveling with Farage, and served eight months in prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud in a money laundering sting. He later moved to Montenegro, where The Sunday Times described him as a key player in Tether(.)bet, an offshore bookmaker that accepts large wagers in cash or crypto, including Tether's USDT stablecoin. Providing unlicensed gambling services to UK customers can constitute a criminal offence under UK law. Cottrell denies personally seeking clients for the platform.

The revelations compound existing pressure on Farage. He is already under investigation over an undisclosed £5 million gift from Tether stakeholder Christopher Harborne. Farage said the Harborne gift covered security costs that Cottrell was reportedly already paying.

Robert Jenrick said "no rules have been broken" over Farage receiving financial support from Cottrell because it was "before he became a member of Parliament." Labour deputy leader Lucy Powell told Times Radio the investigation into Farage should be expanded to include benefits he received from Cottrell. The Liberal Democrats have written to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards to say there is a "serious question as to whether Farage met his obligations under the Code of Conduct for MPs."

Sources:
The Block: Nigel Farage failed to declare funding from crypto gambling figure
ITV News: No rules broken over criminal's financial support to Farage, says Jenrick