Who is
Christopher Harborne?
The billionaire who has become Reform UK’s dominant donor built much of his fortune through aviation and cryptocurrency. Here is what is documented about his money, his political donations and his relationship with Reform.
Christopher Harborne is not just another name on Reform’s donor list. He has put about £25.19 million into Reform UK and its predecessor, the Brexit Party, then gave another £5 million directly to Nigel Farage. That is more than £30 million connecting one billionaire to one political movement and its leader. The scale alone demands scrutiny.
Who is Christopher Harborne?
Harborne was born in Britain and later became a Thai citizen, using the Thai name Chakrit Sakunkrit. He has worked in investment, aviation fuel and cryptocurrency and is based principally in Thailand.
The Guardian reported that he founded aviation fuel business AML Global and has held investments in defence and aviation companies. Cryptocurrency later became a major source of his wealth.
For years Harborne was already a major backer of the Brexit Party before the organisation became Reform UK. His role therefore is not a recent one-off donation. He has been financially connected to Farage’s political project across different names and different stages of its growth.
That history matters because Reform presents itself as an insurgent movement taking on an established political system. Voters are entitled to ask how that image fits with one billionaire becoming its overwhelmingly dominant financial backer.
More than £30 million around Farage and Reform
£30.19m
£25.19m in registered Reform/Brexit donations plus a separate £5m personal gift to Nigel Farage.
Registered political donations
Of the published Reform/Brexit donation total
Harborne became the party’s largest donor and gave roughly £10m during that period.
His funding accelerated again, including the record £9m donation and later payments.
On top of the party money came a separate £5m gift directly to Nigel Farage.
His fortune is tied to Tether
The Guardian reported that Harborne owns about a 12% stake in Tether, the company behind USDT, and has also held an interest in Bitfinex.
About 12% of Tether
A substantial part of Harborne’s wealth is tied to one of the world’s largest stablecoin businesses.
Reform is taking unprecedented sums from him
That makes the source, structure and risk profile of his wealth politically relevant.
The Russia-linked questions around Harborne’s businesses
Used in Russia-linked illicit finance networks
UK investigators have described crypto-enabled laundering and sanctions-evasion networks involving Russian interests.
Not accused here of taking part
The question is what due diligence Reform carried out before taking extraordinary sums from a major shareholder.
Questions were raised publicly
Defence Secretary John Healey asked Farage for assurances about the source of profits behind the £5m gift and AML Global’s Russia-related exposure.
The company says it complies with sanctions
That is an important part of the record and is why this article presents the issue as a transparency question, not a finding of wrongdoing.
Nathan Gill was jailed for taking pro-Russian bribes
Nathan Gill, the former Reform Wales leader, was sentenced to ten and a half years after admitting eight bribery offences. The CPS said he took around £40,000 in return for political activity for people linked to pro-Russian interests.
That does not implicate Harborne. But it does mean questions about foreign influence, donor checks and Russia are not abstract issues around Reform.
Read more here: Nathan Gill, Farage’s Russia comments and the wider Reform questions
Questions Reform still needs to answer
What do you think?
Tell us which Reform policies, people and funding questions concern you most. If you are a Clacton voter, you can also join the Recall Team.
Sources
- The Guardian, 25 April 2026
Profile of Christopher Harborne, his political donations, aviation interests, cryptocurrency investments and reported 12% Tether stake.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/apr/25/christopher-harborne-mystery-billionaire-bankrolling-reform-uk-nigel-farage - The Guardian, 5 March 2026
Report on Harborne’s further £3 million donation to Reform and earlier £9 million donation.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/mar/05/crypto-investor-christopher-harbone-reform-uk-donation - The Guardian, 29 June 2026
Report that Harborne had donated £15 million to Reform in the previous 12 months and had also given Nigel Farage a £5 million personal gift.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/jun/29/thailand-based-crypto-investor-funding-reform-nigel-farage-unlikely-to-avoid-cap-on-overseas-donations - Electoral Commission
Political donations register search for Christopher Harborne.
https://search.electoralcommission.org.uk/Search/Donations?et=pp&includeOutsdeSection75=true&isIrishSourceNo=true&isIrishSourceYes=true&order=desc&postPoll=true&prePoll=false&query=Christopher%20Harborne®ister=gb,ni,none&sort=AcceptedDate¤tPage=1 - DonationWatch, August 2026
Aggregation of Electoral Commission disclosures showing £45.17m in total Reform UK / Brexit Party donations and £25.19m from Christopher Harborne.
https://donation.watch/en/unitedkingdom/party/REFORM/donors - The Guardian, 22 May 2026
John Healey asks whether any of the £5m gift may have come from Russia-linked profits and raises questions about AML Global.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/may/22/john-healey-asks-nigel-farage-if-any-of-gift-may-have-come-from-russia-linked-profits - The Guardian, 21 November 2025
Report on UK investigators finding Tether used in Russia-linked laundering and war-support networks, while making clear Harborne was not accused of wrongdoing.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/nov/21/cryptocurrency-farage-donor-used-for-russian-war-effort - Crown Prosecution Service, 21 November 2025
Nathan Gill jailed for ten and a half years after admitting eight bribery offences involving individuals linked to pro-Russian interests.
https://www.cps.gov.uk/cps/news/former-ukip-mep-jailed-taking-bribes
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