Russian links and
Reform’s money

Nathan Gill: jailed for taking bribes

Nathan Gill arriving at the Old Bailey. Photograph: Yui Mok/PA. Source: The Guardian

Nathan Gill represented Wales in the European Parliament and was previously a UKIP MEP and Brexit Party MEP. He later became leader of Reform UK in Wales.

On 21 November 2025 Gill was sentenced to 10 and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to eight bribery offences. [1]

According to the Crown Prosecution Service, Gill took around £40,000 between 2018 and 2019 in exchange for tabling parliamentary motions, delivering speeches and facilitating media access for individuals linked to pro-Russian interests. [1]

Nigel Farage and Russia

During the 2024 general election campaign, Farage said the “ever-eastward expansion of NATO and the European Union” had provoked the conflict that led to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. [2]

Nigel Farage speaking after the jailing of Nathan Gill. Photograph: Vincent Kessler/Reuters. Source: The Guardian

Farage also made clear that Vladimir Putin was responsible for launching the invasion. His argument was that Western policy had contributed to creating the conditions in which it occurred. [2]

Farage has previously described Putin as the world leader he most admired. When challenged about that statement in 2024, he said he disliked Putin personally but had admired him “as a political operator”. [2]

The Brexit Party vote

On 10 October 2019, Brexit Party MEPs voted against a European Parliament resolution concerning foreign electoral interference and disinformation. [3]

The party’s own written explanation remains published by the European Parliament.

The same explanation said the Brexit Party supported free and fair elections, free speech and democratic accountability. Its objection was specifically to claims and measures contained in the resolution.

Christopher Harborne: the money question

Christopher Harborne has become one of the largest individual political donors in modern British politics.

Electoral Commission figures reported in 2026 showed that Harborne had given £15 million to Reform UK within the previous 12 months. He had already donated heavily to the Brexit Party in earlier years. [4]

Christopher Harborne, Nigel Farage, Reform and cryptocurrency. Illustration: Michelle Thompson/The Guardian. Source: The Guardian

Harborne also gave Nigel Farage a separate £5 million personal gift. The circumstances surrounding that gift have attracted political and parliamentary scrutiny. [5]

Where does the Russia question come from?

A significant part of Harborne’s wealth has been linked to cryptocurrency. He has been reported as holding about a 12% stake in Tether, the company behind the USDT stablecoin. [6]

Tether itself is not Russian. However, UK law enforcement and government discussions have highlighted the use of Tether in international money laundering, sanctions evasion and transactions linked to Russian criminal and financial networks. [6]

But when one individual provides extraordinarily large amounts of money to a political party and its leader, questions about the ultimate sources of that wealth and the recipient’s due diligence are legitimate.

In May 2026 Defence Secretary John Healey publicly asked Farage whether any part of his £5 million gift could have derived from Russia-linked profits. The question was publicly posed, but it was not a finding that the money was Russian. [7]

The Cottrell funding network

George Cottrell with Nigel Farage in 2019. Photograph: Mark Kerrison/Alamy. Source: The Guardian

George Cottrell is a longstanding associate of Farage and a former deputy treasurer of UKIP. He has a previous criminal conviction for fraud-related offences in the United States.

His mother, Fiona Cottrell, became a substantial financial supporter of Reform. The Guardian reported in July 2026 that George Cottrell had transferred more than $2 million to his mother shortly before she made significant payments connected with Reform UK and its fundraising network. [8]

Two direct donations of £250,000 made by Fiona Cottrell to Reform are among payments being examined by the Metropolitan Police. George and Fiona Cottrell have also been reported as having been interviewed under caution. [9]

The £1 million transfer

In June 2024 Fiona Cottrell transferred £1 million to Britain Means Business, a company previously known as Leave Means Leave and used as a fundraising vehicle connected with Reform UK. [10]

Richard Tice was a director of Britain Means Business. According to reporting based on banking and financial records, £500,000 was subsequently transferred from Britain Means Business to Reform UK. [10]

The Guardian reported that banks had been unable to establish the ultimate origin of all the money and that the National Crime Agency sought assistance from its Australian counterpart to trace it. [10]

Richard Tice and the funding questions

The questions are also relevant to Reform deputy leader Richard Tice because of his role in Britain Means Business and separate financial dealings involving George Cottrell.

Richard Tice, Reform UK’s deputy leader. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian. Source: The Guardian

Reporting in July 2026 disclosed that Tice had received an approximately £80,000 personal bridging loan from George Cottrell. Tice has said it was a legitimate short-term loan and was repaid. [11]

The transaction was among matters that generated suspicious activity reports from banking institutions. A suspicious activity report does not establish criminal conduct. [11]

What the evidence actually shows

These stories should not be blurred together into a claim for which there is no evidence.

Nathan Gill’s case is proven. He admitted bribery offences involving individuals linked to pro-Russian interests and was imprisoned.

Farage’s statements are documented. His argument about NATO and EU expansion, and his earlier comments about Putin, are matters of public record.

The Brexit Party vote is documented. Its own explanation of that vote remains on the European Parliament website.

The Harborne questions are questions about transparency and due diligence. We are not claiming that Harborne acted for Russia or that his donations came from Russia.

The Cottrell and Tice matters involve financial scrutiny and ongoing investigations. They do not prove that Reform received Russian money.

Scrutiny is not a smear

Reform UK wants to govern Britain.

That means its leadership, its funding and the people operating around it should receive the same level of scrutiny as every other major political party.

Asking where millions of pounds came from is not a conspiracy theory. Asking what checks were performed is not a smear.

When a former senior figure in the movement has actually been jailed for accepting money from people linked to pro-Russian interests, those questions become even more important.

We are not claiming facts that have not been established. We are asking Reform to answer the facts that have.