The Metropolitan Police is understood to have launched a probe into high-value donations to Reform UK by a company controlled by the party’s deputy leader, Richard Tice.
Police are investigating two payments of £250,000 each from Britain Means Business before the 2024 general election.
It comes after the Sunday Times reported earlier this month that £500,000 worth of direct donations to Reform from aristocrat Fiona Cottrell were being investigated by the Met over alleged donation offences.
Fiona is the mother of convicted fraudster George Cottrell, who is thought to have been bankrolling Nigel Farage behind the scenes for years.
Now, the BBC has learned two donations from Tice’s firm are also under investigation, with Tice saying the money was donated to the company by Fiona Cottrell.
What is being investigated?
The police probe is looking into alleged offences that money received by Reform UK which may have amounted to “the evasion of restrictions on donations”.
This could mean money from an “impermissible” donor, or using “false information” about the donation and where it came from.
Britain Means Business was originally set up as a pro-Brexit company, and since 2020 had operated with Tice as the sole owner.
After Fiona Cottrell’s two donations directly to Reform in May 2024, the following month Britain Means Business then donated two lots of £250,000 to the party as well.
One payment on 10 June and a second on 12 June were made while Tice was still chairman of Reform UK, and just under a month before he and Farage were elected to parliament.
The Electoral Commission keeps a public record of political donations, and this shows that the party’s account was then frozen just days after the second donation.
The party’s bank, Arbuthnot Latham, had reportedly frozen the account for two weeks around the election date to perform “compliance checks”, according to the Sunday Times.
It came after transfers from Fiona Cottrell were flagged with suspicious activity reports (SARs), which are not indicative of criminal activity, but show bankers thought further investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA) could be warranted – according to reporting by the Sunday Times.
These SARs happened after she donated a total of £500,000 directly to Reform, then £1m to Britain Means Business, half of which Tice then transferred to the party.
A spokesperson for the Met Police said: “An investigation was launched in February 2025 after a referral was made to the Metropolitan Police by the Electoral Commission relating to donations made to a political party ahead of the 2024 UK General Election.”
They added: “Detectives from the Met’s Special Enquiry Team are investigating alleged offences under Section 61 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000.
“Early investigative advice has been sought from the Crown Prosecution Service and two people have so far been interviewed under caution. No arrests have been made.
“An offence under this section is not one that the Electoral Commission can investigate and, as such, it is a matter for the police.”
What does Reform say?
Tice, Farage and their party have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and insisted they had no indication any impermissible donations were made.
A Reform UK spokesman told the BBC: “Reform takes pride in its stringent vetting of donations and always ensures that the Electoral Commission guidelines on donations, as set out in the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, are strictly followed, as has been the case with donations so far.”
Meanwhile, Tice said he had not heard about the investigation’s scope including his company until the BBC informed him.
“This is the first I have heard of it,” he said. “If true why are the Met Police briefing the BBC before contacting interested parties?
“Is the Met leadership now engaged in the widespread politically motivated smear campaign against Reform and its leaders?”
Earlier this week, speaking at a rally in Norfolk, Farage partly responded to the allegations, claiming he had “absolutely no idea” whether Fiona Cottrell had donated money on behalf of her son, his close ally George Cottrell.
Farage added: “What’s it got to do with me how families sort out their finances? If the money was hers legally and she gave the donation, I don’t see what the problem is.”
All the allegations
For the past couple of months, Farage and his party have faced increasing scrutiny over his financial affairs and allegations he did not properly declare gifts and donations.
He is facing a parliamentary standards investigation over a £5m gift from billionaire Reform UK donor Christopher Harborne, which he did not register, arguing it was intended for his personal security.
Earlier in July, the Sunday Times reported Farage received years of undeclared support from George Cottrell – a crypto-gambling entrepreneur involved in an offshore bookmaker, Tether.bet, and a longstanding ally of the Reform leader.
In 2017, Cottrell was sentenced to eight months in a US prison after admitting to wire fraud for attempting to deceive criminals on the dark web by masquerading as a money launderer.
He reportedly funded significant parts of Farage’s operation in the year before the 2024 general election, including back-office support, private security, staff, transport and accommodation.
Since Farage’s election, Cottrell has also reportedly let him use a five-storey rented townhouse near Buckingham Palace.
Under the House of Commons code of conduct, MPs must register any benefit received in the 12 months before their election if it relates to their political activities, within one month of taking their seat. Purely personal gifts from friends or family are exempt.
Farage declared only one benefit from Cottrell on taking his seat in July 2024 – £9,253.60 for flights, hotels and security to attend a conference in Belgium.
He has since registered a £15,200 flight to a Trump fundraiser paid for by Cottrell, and a £750,000 donation to Reform UK from Cottrell’s mother, Fiona.
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