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British police said Wednesday that they have opened a criminal investigation into allegations that anti-immigration party Reform UK broke rules barring foreign donations.
The allegations emerged from an undercover investigation aired by Channel 4 News.
Under UK law, political parties cannot accept foreign donations.
The Metropolitan Police said that after the broadcast, the force “received a number of reports relating to donations and polling involving a political party.
“Detectives have assessed the information provided and determined that there are potential offenses requiring investigation,” it said.
Reform UK said it “denies any wrongdoing and will fully cooperate with the investigation.”
Following its release, Farage’s aide Dan Jukes and Reform’s head of policy James Orr stepped down, the party said.
A former Electoral Commission chief executive has told Channel 4 the evidence points to possible criminal offences.
What does the documentary show?
Last week, Channel 4 broadcast an undercover investigation in which two senior Reform UK officials appeared to discuss ways money from an American financier could be channeled through his UK-based son to get around the rules.
The footage showed Jukes discussing a potential £500,000 (€580,000) donation with two men posing as a US financier and his UK-based son, while Farage was present. The supposed son was actually a reporter for investigative group Verbatim, while the man posing as his father was an actor.
Separate footage appeared to show Reform UK policy chief James Orr discussing whether the supposed US donor could fund opinion polls commissioned by the party.
Reform UK already under scrutiny
Reform UK was already facing scrutiny over its funding before the documentary aired. Farage is being investigated by Parliament’s standards watchdog over an undeclared gift worth around £5 million (€5.8 million) from a Thailand-based cryptocurrency billionaire in 2024.
Police are also investigating donations made to Reform UK ahead of the 2024 general election by the mother of George Cottrell, a Farage aide who previously served a prison sentence for fraud in the United States.
Police said Wednesday that the potential offenses raised by the TV program “are similar in nature to matters already under investigation by the Met’s Special Enquiry Team relating to donations made to the same political party. As a result, these matters will form part of that ongoing investigation.”
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