George Cottrell, a convicted fraudster and supporter of Nigel Farage, had about $8.8 million deposited into his Polymarket account in October 2024, according to a Financial Times report cited by Protos.
The Financial Times said the Polymarket account, using the username GCottrell93, received $7 million in five separate transactions from a wallet on crypto exchange OKX. It also received another $1.83 million from a wallet on ChangeNOW. The report described both funding sources as unknown.
Those funds were then used almost immediately to bet on whether Donald Trump would win the US election. From there, the Financial Times said $13 million in winnings was sent to an OKX wallet, while $282,000 was sent to ChangeNOW.
Cottrell’s record and ties to Farage
Cottrell was convicted of wire fraud in March 2017 after he was caught agreeing to launder drug trafficking proceeds. For years, his relationship with Farage stayed largely out of public view.
That changed over the past year. Farage was reported to have accepted a £5 million gift from Tether investor Christopher Harborne without declaring it. Cottrell was also reported to have funded staff, security, and housing for the Reform UK leader before his election in 2024.
None of that support was declared, and it has since been referred to the UK’s Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.
Polymarket betting continued into 2026
Protos also noted that Cottrell has kept betting on Polymarket this year. In March 2026, the outlet reported that he placed a $41,000 bet that the US war with Iran would last another four months.
One of his larger open positions now is a $71,000 bet on whether Vice President JD Vance will win the Republican presidential nomination in 2028.
Byline Times adds passport allegation
Separate reporting from Byline Times said Cottrell had previously used a fraudulent Swiss passport under the name Oscar Drewitt.
According to that report, Reform UK’s former treasurer, Mehrtash A’zami, knew about the false identity and hired Cottrell into a City financial network while he was using the Swiss alias.
Byline Times also said another gambler, Hon Kong Yong, introduced Cottrell to that network under the false name. It added that Yong and A’zami have companies registered at the same office in Tivat, Montenegro, an address also linked to Harborne and two other former Reform UK officials.
The story was published by Protos and cites reporting from the Financial Times and Byline Times.
