# A £36m bet on Farage, paid in one lump > A crypto billionaire just handed Reform UK the biggest political donation in British history, and the timing is the whole story. - Title: A £36m bet on Farage, paid in one lump · Dailymail | Shortify - Summary: A crypto billionaire just handed Reform UK the biggest political donation in British history, and the timing is the whole story. The size and the timing are… - Keywords: reform uk, political donations, nigel farage, crypto, uk politics, news, entertainment, 36m, bet, Farage, paid, one - Source: Dailymail — https://dailymail.com/news/article-16124755/crypto-billionaire-donates-record-36million-Reform-UK-general-election.html?ito=1490&ns_campaign=1490&ns_mchannel=rss - Published: 2026-09-11T22:46:29+00:00 - Read time: 3 min - Topics: reform uk, political donations, nigel farage, crypto, uk politics, news, entertainment ## A record broken Ben Delo has given Reform UK £36million, the largest political donation in British history. The previous record was £10million, left to the Conservatives in a will. ## Who Ben Delo is Delo co-founded the crypto trading platform BitMEX in 2014 and made his first billion within four years. He recently moved back to the UK from Hong Kong. ## His stated reason He says he wants Farage's party to have a fair fight at the next general election, rather than spending its time chasing money. > I want a fair fight and a level playing field ## Stop fundraising, start governing Delo says Reform should spend less time raising funds and more time preparing to run the country. The gift is framed as buying them that room. ## He was already the number two Before this, Delo had given Reform £8m, second only to fellow crypto figure Christopher Harborne's £9m. This single gift dwarfs both. ## A difficult summer The new money follows a bruising few months for Reform, and Delo points to that stretch as the reason he moved now rather than later. ## Scotland Yard is investigating Reform is under Met Police investigation over separate claims it breached donation law. The party denies any wrongdoing. ## The Channel 4 sting An undercover investigation broadcast last week alleged two senior figures in Farage's team had looked for ways around the rules on foreign donations. ## The Harborne £5m question A £5m gift to Farage personally from Thailand-based Christopher Harborne is now the subject of a parliamentary sleaze inquiry. ## Two stories, one gift Farage first said the £5m would pay for his security for life, then later described it as a reward for his years of Brexit campaigning. ## The Clacton gambit Farage called a by-election in Clacton to draw a line under the scrutiny. He held the seat, and the investigation simply restarted. ## Count Binface as opposition Every other major party refused to contest Clacton, which left the comedy candidate Count Binface as Farage's main challenger. ## A war chest nobody can match With this gift, Reform has raised five times as much as the Conservatives and six times as much as Labour this year alone. ## A pardon in the file Delo pleaded guilty in the US in 2022 to failing to run an anti-money laundering programme. President Trump pardoned him last year. ## Monthly, then all at once He had pledged £1million a month until the latest possible election date in 2029. He chose to hand it over in one payment instead. ## Why the lump sum Paying it all now is designed to put the money beyond the reach of any government attempt to block future instalments. ## The £100,000 cap Labour has capped donations from overseas donors at £100,000, a change that helped push Delo to move back to the UK. ## Election rigging, he says Delo attacks Labour's Representation of the People Bill, arguing it leaves the party's own millions from trade unions untouched. > an attempt at election rigging ## What the money buys Reform plans to hire what a senior source calls the best brains for its policy unit and to expand its number of campaign managers. > This is about preparing for government ## Bracing for an early poll The spending push rests on a conviction inside Reform that Prime Minister Andy Burnham will call an election ahead of schedule. ## Key takeaway The size and the timing are the point: one lump sum, delivered before new rules on party funding can close the door.