UK lawmakers are examining Nigel Farage over an alleged £5 million undeclared personal gift and whether a later meeting with Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey crossed parliamentary rules. Those rules bar MPs from approaching ministers or public officials on behalf of people who have paid them within the previous 12 months.
September 2025 meeting draws the closest scrutiny
Labour MP Phil Brickell pointed to a private meeting in September 2025, where Farage was accused of urging Bailey to drop plans for a government-backed digital pound. Before that meeting, Brickell said, Farage had publicly backed Tether, criticized proposed stablecoin restrictions, and stated his opposition to the Bank’s policy stance.
The report says the Bank’s position softened after those interventions. Last week, the central bank removed its proposed £20,000 cap on individual stablecoin holdings, a limit that Farage had opposed in public. The digital pound refers to a central bank digital currency, while stablecoins are cryptoassets typically pegged to traditional currencies such as the dollar or pound.
Harborne donations and Tether ties sit at the center of the case
Another key figure is British billionaire Christopher Harborne, who is based in Thailand and owns a 12% stake in Tether, the company behind USDT. He ranks sixth on The Sunday Times Rich List, with wealth estimated at £18.2 billion.
According to the report, Farage received a previously undisclosed £5 million personal gift from Harborne ahead of the July 2024 general election. Reform UK also took in £15 million in donations from Harborne between last August and this February. Farage separately accepted two political travel grants of £25,000 each for visits to the US and the Chagos Islands in January 2025 and February 2026.
Bank of England has not released an official record
Labour MP Joe Powell has written to Bailey asking for full disclosure of the meeting. Powell said decisions affecting the UK financial system should serve the public interest and rest on independent assessment, rather than privileged access for specific investors in private settings.
Farage said the £5 million payment came with no conditions, adding that he could spend it on luxury cars if he wanted because it was a private matter. The Bank of England described the September 2025 meeting as part of its routine engagement with political figures. It acknowledged that Farage and Bailey disagreed on the digital pound, but it has not published any official account of the discussion.
The report also says Daniel Greenberg is reviewing whether Farage should have declared the £5 million personal gift separately. Farage and Harborne both maintain that no expectations were attached to the donations, while Reform UK has rejected all allegations tied to the affair.