Nigel Farage purchased a £1.4 million property in cash shortly after receiving a £5 million personal gift from the crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne, documents seen by the Guardian and reported by Sky News have revealed.
The secluded home, located outside London, was bought in 2024 and has since been subject to several approved applications for extension and redevelopment. It adds to a growing property portfolio that now includes four properties owned by Farage himself, with a fifth owned by his partner, Laure Ferrari, which he uses in his Clacton constituency.
In the same month he acquired the £1.4 million house, Farage also applied for planning permission to redevelop one of his Kent coastal homes. Ferrari then bought the Clacton property outright in November 2024 for approximately £900,000. Ferrari has faced questions about the source of the funding for her house, telling investigators there is “more than one way to pay for a house” and refusing to confirm the source of the money. A BBC investigation cast doubt on her parents’ financial capacity to provide significant funds. Farage initially claimed he had bought a house in Clacton but later admitted he misspoke and that the property is solely owned by Ferrari. Critics have suggested the arrangement may have been intended to avoid stamp duty.
A Reform UK spokesperson said the chronology of the £1.4 million purchase was straightforward: “The offer and purchase process for the property commenced before the gift. Mr Farage had already passed proof of funds and the relevant checks before receiving the gift. The purchase was therefore already proceeding independently of it.”
Labour has now called on Farage to state in full what the £5 million was used to pay for. Anna Turley, chair of the Labour party, said: “Nigel Farage has repeatedly dodged questions on his multimillion-pound ‘gift’. Now we can see why – this totally stinks. Farage must urgently come clean with the public as to what this £5m was used for and why he failed to declare it.”
Changing explanation for the £5m gift
The Reform UK leader has offered two different explanations for the money he received from Christopher Harborne, a British-Thai billionaire businessman based in Thailand who is also the largest single donor to Reform UK, having given more than £22 million as of March 2026, including £9 million in August 2025.
When the gift was first revealed last month by the Guardian, Farage insisted the £5 million was intended to cover his personal security costs. Harborne himself reportedly said the money was to support Farage’s security “not just now but for the rest of his life”, describing himself as an “ardent supporter who is deeply concerned for my safety”.
But in an interview on Thursday, Farage changed his account, calling the gift a “reward” for his 27 years of campaigning for Brexit. The inconsistency has drawn further scrutiny from both opposition parties and the parliamentary standards watchdog.
Harborne, who also uses the Thai name Chakrit Sakunkrit, has a background in management consulting and has invested in technology, including blockchain platforms. He is the CEO of Sherriff Global Group, which trades in private planes, and owner of AML Global, a firm that sells aviation fuel. He has also been linked to cryptocurrency companies such as Tether and Bitfinex. Before switching his allegiance to Farage and the Brexit Party in 2019, Harborne had previously donated to the Conservative Party.
Rules around declaring the gift — and the potential consequences
Hours before Farage changed his explanation, his name was published on the website of the parliamentary commissioner for standards, confirming a formal investigation over an alleged “failure to declare an interest”. The inquiry was opened on Wednesday and is being conducted under rule 5 of the code of conduct for MPs.
Rule 5 obliges MPs to “fulfil conscientiously” requirements relating to their registration of interests. It states that new MPs must register all their current financial interests, and any registrable benefits (other than earnings) received in the 12 months before their election. This must be done within one month of their election, and any change in those registrable interests must be registered within 28 days.
Farage has argued that the gift did not need to be declared because it was a private, unconditional gift intended for personal security, not a political donation. However, other parties contend that the money falls within rules requiring MPs to declare any potentially relevant gifts or donations received in the 12 months before entering parliament.
The code of conduct and rules for MPs do provide an exemption for some personal gifts if they “could not reasonably be thought by others to be related to membership of the house or to the member’s parliamentary or political activities”. The rules explicitly state: “Both the possible motive of the giver and the use to which the gift is to be put should be considered. If there is any doubt, the benefit should be registered.”
Farage is one of five MPs currently under investigation by the standards watchdog, but he is the only one being investigated under rule 5. If the investigation finds that he committed a particularly serious breach of parliamentary declaration rules, he could be suspended from the House of Commons. A suspension of ten days or more would trigger a recall petition, which could in turn force Farage to fight again for his Clacton seat in a by-election.
The Conservatives have also referred the matter to the Electoral Commission, which is considering a complaint. The Register of Members’ Financial Interests shows that Farage has previously made late entries and rectifications regarding his financial interests. He has also been involved in promoting cryptocurrency investments.
Before entering parliament, Farage had already amassed a property portfolio worth approximately £3 million since the 2016 Brexit referendum, including properties held through his company Thorn In The Side Limited. The £1.4 million house, which features several significant historical elements that align with Farage’s known interest in history, is the latest asset to be added to that portfolio.
