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Reform UK would be allowed to keep the interest earned on the £72 million in donations received from two billionaire donors over the weekend – even if they’re forced to return the gifts.
Crypto billionaires Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo gave the largest ever donations to a UK political party, £36 million each, to Nigel Farage’s party.
Both were reported as living – until very recently – overseas. Delo was based in Hong Kong and Harborne in Thailand. The Labour Government’s current Representation of the People Bill going through Parliament places a cap of £100,000 a year on donors living overseas, which will be retrospective.
Under the new bill, an individual is not a permissible donor if when the party receives the donation, they are an “overseas contributor” and their donations for that whole calendar year exceed £100,000. Assuming the bill passes as it is, this largely kicks in from when the changes were announced, 25 March 2026. There is therefore mounting speculation that the donations will have to be returned by Nigel Farage’s party once the bill passes.
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Under the legislation, the party would have 60 days to return the donations if they are ruled impermissible.
However, Byline Times has learned that even if the donations are ruled illegal, Reform UK will be able to keep any interest earned on the enormous gifts.
The interest could amount to nearly £500,000 if the donations are returned at the end of the 60-day legal deadline.
The current highest-earning, easy access business account Byline Times found pays 4.15% AER variable, which would amount to £491,000 interest. Other providers offer 3.91% AER variable interest (£462,800 interest) or have introductory offers of 4.00% (£473,000 interest over 60 days).
There is no sanction for a party if they return impermissible donations within the legal timeframe.
This arguably creates an incentive for parties to accept illegal donations, hold on to them for 59 days, return the donations and pocket the interest.
| Annual rate | Approx interest over 60 days |
|---|---|
| 3% (low estimate) | £355,000 |
| 3.75% (Bank Rate) | £444,000 |
| 3.91% (available rate) | £462,800 |
| 4% (available rate) | £473,000 |
| 4.15% (available rate) | £491,000 |
| 4.5% (e.g. if rates rise) | £533,000 |
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‘Glaring Loophole’
Labour MP Phil Brickell, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Anti-Corruption, told Byline Times the weekend’s mega donations mean democracy has entered “uncharted waters.”
“They’ve exposed a glaring loophole which the government must urgently plug via the Representation of the People Bill currently making its way through Parliament.
“There’s only one inescapable conclusion – that we need to pave the way now for a cap on the amount any individual can donate and which is fair, proportionate and workable.”
Brickell said: “If the donations are forced to be returned, but with substantial interest being kept by Reform UK, then Nigel Farage should respect the spirit of the law and donate the inadvertent proceeds to a worthy cause, such as the RNLI.”
A spokesperson for the Electoral Commission told this outlet: “When interest has been gained on an impermissible donation before it is returned…the interest accrued until that point may be kept by the party.
“The interest is not treated as a donation and does therefore not need to be included in the total reported to the Commission. The value of the impermissible donation returned must still be reported to the Commission.”
The spokesperson insisted: “We have not seen evidence of parties or other regulated entities having received and returned impermissible donations for the purposes of accruing interest.”
The Electoral Commission says parties must take “all reasonable steps” to satisfy themselves that the source of a donation is permissible, even if they have made permissibility checks for past donations from the same source. They must also keep a record of their permissibility checks to show that they have followed the rules.
Impermissible donations kept after the legal time limit party make them potentially liable for civil sanctions (such as fines), while the party and the treasurer may also have committed criminal offences. Any potential breach is dealt with in line with the EC’s Enforcement Policy.
On X, accountant and Reform-watcher Chris Spencer wrote: “Even if Reform have to return the