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reform uk recently received The largest donation given to a political party in the history of Britain From one living person, official figures show.
in August, Nigel FarageThe party received £9 million from British businessman Christopher Harborne, who has long been associated with right-wing politics and Brexit.
This huge amount means Reform UK received the largest amount of donations between July and September this year, with the Conservatives close behind with £7m and Labor in third place with £2.5m.
The donation also marks another defection from Kemi Badenoch’s party, which is struggling to retain its voter base in the face of the growing popularity of Reform UK.
Over the years, Mr Harborne has made substantial donations to both the Tories and the Brexit Party, and even accompanied Boris Johnson on a visit to Ukraine when he was prime minister.
Who is Christopher Harborne?
Mr Harborne is a British businessman and a prominent cryptocurrency investor in his early sixties.
He was educated at Westminster School, an elite private school near Parliament, before studying at Downing College, Cambridge and earning an MBA from the prestigious business school INSEAD.
He currently resides in Thailand and holds Thai citizenship under the name Chakrit Sakunkrit.
Where does his wealth come from?
Early in his career, Mr. Harborne worked as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company, before relocating to Asia to run a research company.
He is now chief executive of Sherif Global Group, which trades private planes, and owner of AML Global, a company that sells aviation fuel.
Additionally, Mr Harborne has a shareholder stake in defense technology firm Kinetic, which has been awarded the first Ministry of Defense (MoD) contract.
As well as his aviation businesses, he is a technology investor and founded a company called Cingular AI Consulting Ltd, and is now a shareholder of the cryptocurrency Tether.
What is their involvement in politics?
The businessman has donated to right-wing parties on several occasions, including a £6m donation to the Brexit Party in 2019 and a £3m donation shortly before the 2019 general election.
Since 2001, he has also donated small amounts of around £15,000 per year to the Tories.
In November 2022, Mr Harborne donated £1m to Boris Johnson’s private office, the largest donation ever made to an individual British politician.
He later served as an advisor to the former prime minister on his visit to Kyiv to meet Volodymyr Zelensky in September 2023.
Reform UK has denied that Nigel Farage’s promotion of Tether, the cryptocurrency in which Harborne is a shareholder, and support for regulation of cryptocurrencies in the UK are linked to the charity.
Asked about the link, a party spokesperson said: “No. [It is] Because [Harborne] “Supports Reform UK, just as they supported the Brexit Party.”