Reform UK, the party led by Nigel Farage, received a £36 million donation — approximately R$ 249.6 million — from British cryptocurrency billionaire Ben Delo. According to the BBC, this is the largest individual contribution ever directed to a political party in the United Kingdom.
The amounts in reais were calculated with the pound valued at about R$ 6.93 on Friday. The rate fluctuates throughout the day and does not account for taxes or foreign exchange fees.
Co-founder of the cryptocurrency trading platform BitMEX, Delo stated that he decided to fund Reform UK to provide a “fair fight” in the British political landscape. Farage said he was “honored and grateful” for the support.
The businessman planned to donate £1 million — about R$ 6.9 million — per month until 2029, the deadline for the Labour government to call the next general election. Faced with the possibility of new restrictions on large political contributions, however, he decided to deliver the entire amount upfront.
— Contrary to people who express a false concern for the health of “our democracy,” while doing everything they can to keep it as a cartel, I want a fair contest and a level playing field — wrote Delo in an article published by the British newspaper “The Daily Telegraph.”
Currently, there is no cap on the sums that donors residing in the United Kingdom can give to political parties. The Labour government, however, has already proposed a cap of £100,000 — approximately R$ 693,000 — on contributions from British citizens living abroad or who have recently returned to the country.
Born in Sheffield, Delo lives in Hong Kong and had previously stated that he would return to the United Kingdom to continue funding Farage’s party. Before the new donation, he had already donated £4 million — about R$ 27.7 million — to Reform UK.
Delo was one of the founders of BitMEX, a platform that became one of the largest in the world for trading cryptocurrency derivatives. In 2022, he pleaded guilty in the United States to violating anti-money-laundering rules.
The businessman admitted that the platform failed to implement an adequate program to prevent financial crimes. Last year, he received an unconditional pardon from American President Donald Trump.
