The “contract” that Nigel Farage stood on at the general election opens with a hymn to the country he claims to love: “Britain has so much potential. Our country is full of talent and energy.” But the far-right rhetoric spouted by Reform UK is fuelled by people and companies who have already voted with their feet, basing their business interests offshore.
Some are directors of companies which are themselves based in places like Jersey, the Cayman Islands, and Bermuda, while others have parent companies – ultimately owned by the same directors – based offshore. Some donors to Reform are themselves no longer UK residents.
The Offshore Money Trail
The largest portion of this comes from the British technology investor Christopher Harborne, who lives in Thailand. Harborne gave £13.7m to Reform, then the Brexit Party, between 2019 and 2020.
Documents revealed as part of a defamation case between Harborne and The Wall Street Journal show that one iteration of AML Global is listed as registered to the British Virgin Islands (BVI). Harborne is also named as having a 12% stake in cryptocurrency company Tether, which is owned by BVI-based company iFinex.
He also features in the Panama Papers more than once, as a shareholder of a British Virgin Islands (BVI)-based entity, and again as an intermediary of five further BVI-based firms in another entry, including one of the iterations of AML.
Offshore Donations: A Pattern of Support for Far-Right Causes
A huge chunk of donations has come from Jeremy Hosking – one of the three founders of Marathon Asset Management – who has given Reform £2.4m. The company has a subsidiary based in the Cayman Islands, and is ultimately controlled by a firm based in Jersey.
Other causes Hosking has backed include Dominic Cummings’ pro-Brexit campaign, Vote Leave, Laurence Fox’s Reclaim Party and the anti-vax former-Tory MP Andrew Bridgen.
More Than Just Harborne and Hosking
Another substantial donor to Reform with offshore interests is Andrew Perloff, who owns the property company Panther Securities PLC. Panther invests across the UK mainland, but most of its shares are owned by a Jersey-based investment vehicle, Portnard Ltd. Portnard is in turn controlled by Perloff, who is also a longstanding political donor.
Panther gave £20,000 to Reform in 2023, and £25,000 this year after Perloff wrote to board members urging an increase because it is “an election year” Perloff has also given £25,000 to Reform in a personal capacity, as well as previously giving both to the Tories and UKIP.
Panther Securities insisted to The Mirror – who we worked with on this investigation – that “even though Portnard Ltd was incorporated in Jersey, it is fully UK tax resident”. While the company confirmed that Perloff did propose giving money to Reform, “the vote to pay the donation… was made by Panther’s shareholders, with Andrew not voting his holding.”
Other companies contributing to Reform’s coffers are also owned by entities based abroad. Evan Management Limited, which gave £200,000 this year, is ultimately owned by Jtc PLC, based in Jersey. Both Michael and Helga Evans, the heads of the Evan’s Management group, are also listed on Companies House as living in Monaco.
A further £50,000 has made its way to Reform from Tangerine Holdings Limited, ultimately owned by a company called Rendell, registered in Isle of Man, and another company, Hepburn Bio Care UK Limited, is owned by one Margaret Hepburn, another resident of Monaco.
Tangerine said that the structuring of the company was not done for tax reasons, but because the director likes to be able to move things around outside of the public attention, and that all companies owned by Tangerine pay full UK tax.
Is This What ‘Securing Britain’s Future’ Looks Like?
“Part of loving your country, part of believing in democracy”, said Good Law Project’s executive Director Jo Maugham, “is agreeing to be bound by its rules, its laws – not seeking to avoid them by basing yourself in funny offshore jurisdictions.”
Mullins sold his business for £145m in 2021, and now plans to redirect his investments to Dubai and Spain. Ahead of the July 2024 General Election, he donated £20,000 to Nigel Farage’s party.
A Reform spokesperson told the Mirror newspaper that “all donations to Reform UK are accepted in accordance with the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, and regularly declared to the Electoral Commission.”
A spokesperson for Nigel Farage also highlighted an investigation by Open Democracy about how Labour accepted a £4m donation from hedge fund Quadrature Capital, which is owned by a company in the Caymans.
The Offshore Bonanza and UK Politics
The reliance of Reform UK on offshore funding raises serious questions about the party’s commitment to ‘securing Britain’s future’. While the party claims to uphold the principles of British democracy, their dependence on entities based in tax havens raises concerns about transparency and accountability. This is not just a question of money; it’s about the ethical framework of political participation in the UK.
Christopher Harborne, Jeremy Hosking, Evans Management, and Hepburn Bio Care UK were approached for comment.
There is no suggestion of wrongdoing on the part of any individuals or businesses named in this story or that they have avoided paying tax.
This investigation highlights the growing influence of offshore money in UK politics. It underscores the need for greater transparency and regulation of political donations, particularly those linked to tax havens.
As this case demonstrates, the lines between private interests and public policy are becoming increasingly blurred. The question remains: will the UK government take action to address the growing problem of offshore influence on its democratic processes?
