A Thailand-based cryptocurrency investor has given a record £9m to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, marking the largest donation ever made by a living individual to a British political party.
Christopher Harborne — who has previously donated £1m to Boris Johnson and millions to the Brexit Party — provided the funding as Reform leads national polls and seeks to attract support from senior Conservative figures. The donation, made in August according to electoral filings, has helped the party out-raise both Labour and the Conservatives over the past three months.
Reform secured more than £10m in total donations in that period, compared with £4.5m for the Conservatives and £1.9m for Labour. Additional backing included £500,000 from the party’s treasurer, Nick Candy.
Harborne, a billionaire who resides in Thailand under the name Chakrit Sakunkrit, is a dual British-Thai citizen known for his investments in cryptocurrencies — including early support for Tether — as well as his aviation and hospitality businesses. He owns a private jet and aviation-fuel enterprise, along with a luxury resort on Koh Samui. He has also invested in defence and telecoms companies such as QinetiQ and Eutelsat, the parent company of OneWeb.
The donation comes as Mr Farage promotes a crypto-friendly platform, including plans for a Bitcoin reserve at the Treasury, echoing digital-asset policies championed by Donald Trump in the US.
Harborne, known for maintaining a low public profile, previously donated more than £1m to the Conservatives before backing the Brexit Party. He also gave £1m to Boris Johnson after his resignation as prime minister and funded flights for Mr Farage to attend Donald Trump’s inauguration.
A Cambridge graduate and former McKinsey consultant, Harborne later moved into private aircraft trading and has established a research lab in Cambridge.
Filings also show Reform received £36,000 in conference sponsorship from Heathrow Airport and £100,000 from Sotheby’s International Realty.
