LONDON (AP) — Reform UK, the anti-immigration party led by Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage, received 72 million pounds ($97 million) from two cryptocurrency billionaires this weekend, fueling concerns about money in British politics.
After news broke that Ben Delo, a co-founder of the BitMEX cryptocurrency platform, had given 36 million pounds ($48 million) to the party, crypto investor Christopher Harborne on Saturday announced he was matching the donation.
Harborne said he was backing Reform UK because he believes its policies will attract the investment Britain needs to bolster the economy and generate the revenue needed to fund healthcare, education and other public services.
But established political parties quickly warned that unlimited donations from billionaire businessmen risked corrupting elections. The Liberal Democrats, currently the third-largest party in the House of Commons, called on Prime Minister Andy Burnham to cap donations and protect British democracy.
“Nigel Farage wants to bring Trump’s America to our shores by buying his way into power,” Liberal Democrat spokesperson Lisa Smart said in a statement. “He’s trying to get into Number 10 as if it’s a stop on a monopoly board,” she added, referring to the prime minister’s residence.”
The twin donations are tied for the biggest ever to a U.K. political party. Together they equal more than the combined amount received by all the country's political parties in 2025, when donations totaled 64.8 million pounds, according to data from the Electoral Commission, which oversees elections and campaign finance in the U.K.
The donations come after months of allegations about improper fundraising by Reform UK that have weakened its standing with voters. Police in London earlier this week opened an investigation into reports that the party violated laws prohibiting contributions from overseas donors.
Delo, who was pardoned by U.S. President Donald Trump last year after pleading guilty to violating anti-money laundering laws, started recently moved back to the U.K. from Hong Kong,
Writing in the Telegraph newspaper, Delo said his donation was designed to help break up the “cartel” that controls British politics, an apparent reference to the Labour and Conservative parties that have dominated elections for the past century.
“Unlike the people who express mock concern for the health of ‘our democracy’ while doing everything they can to keep it as a cartel, I want a fair fight and a level playing field,” Delo wrote. “My conclusion from Reform’s recent troubles is that they should spend less time trying to raise funds to compete on equal terms and more time preparing for government.”
Reform UK has surged in public opinion polls by criticizing the failure of successive governments to stop the inflatable boats that illegally bring thousands of migrants to Britain each year and campaigning to make it harder for people to claim asylum.
The party won 1,453 seats on local government councils in England during elections earlier this year, topping all other parties. While Farage says Reform is preparing to govern after the next election, the party currently has just eight seats in the House of Commons compared with 408 for the governing Labour Party.
Delo said his donation was calculated to equal 1 million pounds ($1.3 million) a month until the latest possible date for the next general election in August 2029. He said he was giving the money up front in case the government limits political donations.
BitMEX was ordered to pay a $100 million fine in 2025, after prosecutors said it “willfully flouted U.S. anti-money laundering laws to boost revenue.” Delo and two other BitMEX co-founders were sentenced to probation after pleading guilty in 2022 to violating the U.S. Banking Secrecy Act.
Trump pardoned BitMEX and its co-founders on March 27, 2025.
Questions about Reform UK’s finances overshadowed its annual party conference last week after an undercover investigation broadcast by Channel 4 News showed senior party officials appearing to discuss ways to disguise contributions from foreign donors.
The Metropolitan Police Service said on Wednesday that it had opened an investigation. U.K. electoral law says parties can only accept donations from British voters or U.K.-registered businesses.
Reform UK denies any wrongdoing and has said it will cooperate fully with the probe.
Farage himself is facing an investigation by Parliament’s standards watchdog over his failure to report a 5-million-pound ($6.7-million) gift he received from Harborne before his election to the House of Commons.
Farage says he did nothing wrong because the money was a personal gift that had nothing to do with politics.
A member wears shoes in Union Flag colours during the Reform party's annual conference at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, England, Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Thomas Krych)
BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s government raced Saturday to contain the fallout after Iran -backed militias were accused of attacking a key Saudi oil pipeline, shutting down the top global oil producer's alternative to the Iranian-threatened Strait of Hormuz.
Though an umbrella group of Iran-backed militias in Iraq denied their involvement, Iraq's government confirmed the attacks had originated from its territory, pledged to investigate and dismissed two senior officials.
The attack on Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline came as the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen put further pressure on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea, through which around 12% of global trade passes, as part of the rebels' targeting neighboring Saudi Arabia and its shipping.
Regional officials have told The Associated Press that the Houthis and the Iraqi militias recently coordinated attacks on Saudi Arabia.
As the events threaten even higher global oil prices after six months of war, U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran was “probably” responsible for the pipeline attack, but tried to calm concerns.
“The Houthis called us, and they don’t want to fight with us,” Trump said. “They would much prefer not having us involved, and they’re letting most ships go through.” He said his administration has had "discussions” with the Houthis, but neither he nor the White House said when those occurred. His administration engaged in at least one round of talks in May 2025.
“We are not in war with Saudi Arabia, and the Houthis have their own problems," Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told India Today TV on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in India.
A group of Iran-backed militias in Iraq denied they were responsible for the attacks on the Saudi pipeline, while praising the Houthis for their “ongoing battlefield victories against Saudi forces.”
The statement said they would cooperate with the Iraqi government’s investigation.
Iraq is under mounting pressure to prevent local militias from aiding Iran proxy groups. The Iraqi government has set a Sept. 30 deadline for nonstate groups to disarm, but several of the most powerful militias have said they will not comply, including the Iran-backed ones.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi said he had ordered an investigation into the operations command of Maysan province, along the border with Iran, and dismissed the province's commander. His office later said the provincial police chief was also dismissed.
Saudi Arabia shut down the cross-country oil pipeline on Friday, saying it was a “precautionary measure” after the pipeline came under drone attack the day before. It blamed the attacks on several drones that came from Iraq but said the kingdom would not retaliate, to give the Iraqi government “an opportunity to take the necessary measures.”
Several Arab countries including Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Egypt, condemned the attack, according to the Saudi state news agency.
Built in the 1980s, the East-West pipeline has played an important role in Saudi Arabia’s ability to export oil following this year's disruption of the Strait of Hormuz. By early June, Saudi Arabia had more than doubled oil exports from the Red Sea port at the pipeline’s end to more than 5 million barrels per day, according to the International Energy Agency.
Iran-backed Iraqi militias have carried out strikes on U.S.-linked targets both inside and outside Iraq since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28.
Saudi Arabia and the United States bombed Iranian-backed militias in Iraq in July after blaming them for drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities that had been claimed by the Houthis. Regional officials told the AP that the Houthis helped the militias plan and execute the attacks.
Meanwhile, in a decision possibly linked to the investigation of the pipeline attack, Iraq closed two key border crossings with Iran, Iraq’s state-run news agency reported.
Valiollah Hayati, deputy governor of Iran’s southwestern Khuzestan province, said Shalamcheh and Chazabeh crossings were closed.
Iran has said a regional meeting is planned Monday between Iran and other Gulf countries about talks between Tehran and Oman — located on the other side of the Strait of Hormuz — on managing shipping there.
Commercial ship traffic remains low on what had been considered an international waterway before the war. Iran has expressed interest in having ships pay fees for transit. It has said traffic into the Persian Gulf from the Gulf of Oman would pass entirely through Iranian waters, while the outbound route would pass partly through Iranian waters and partly through Oman’s territorial waters.
“The waterway would be opened up on the condition that the U.S. will terminate its blockade,” Iran's president said in his interview with the Indian broadcaster.
Bahrain on Saturday, however, said it will not attend any group meeting including Iran before the restoration of diplomatic relations between the countries.
Jill Lawless and Darlene Superville in Dublin contributed to this report.
Houthi prisoners wave from vehicles as they travel through the Bani Matar district on their way to Sanaa, Yemen, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026, after being freed in Mokha following the Houthi takeover of the southern Red Sea port city. (AP Photo/STR)
Houthi prisoners freed in Mokha wave as they arrive in the Bani Matar district on their way to Sanaa, Yemen, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026, following the Houthi takeover of the southern Red Sea port city. (AP Photo/STR)
Houthi fighters escort a convoy carrying prisoners freed in Mokha through the Bani Matar district on its way to Sanaa, Yemen, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026, following the Houthi takeover of the southern Red Sea port city. (AP Photo/STR)
This image taken from undated video released by the Houthi-run Al-Masirah television channel on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026, shows damaged vehicles on a road between the Dhubab and Amri junctions in Yemen, according to the channel. (Al-Masirah TV via AP)
This image taken from undated video released by the Houthi-run Al-Masirah television channel on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026, shows damaged vehicles on a road between the Dhubab and Amri junctions in Yemen, according to the channel. (Al-Masirah TV via AP)
This image taken from undated video released by the Houthi-run Al-Masirah television channel on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026, shows Houthi fighters chanting and raising rifles atop a military vehicle in Dhubab district, Taiz province, Yemen, according to the channel. (Al-Masirah TV via AP)
Yemen's Houthi rebels chat as they check their weapons during a mobilization campaign in Sanaa, Yemen, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. (AP Photo)
Yemen's Houthi rebels march during a mobilization campaign in Sanaa, Yemen, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. (AP Photo)
