Nigel Farage accused of under-declaring value of private jet loan from crypto billionaire

Nigel Farage accused of under-declaring value of private jet loan from crypto billionaire Reform UK leader facing further questions over donations from Thai-based businessman Christopher Harborne - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments Nigel Farage has been accused of significantly under-declaring a donation from his billionaire crypto backer Christopher Harborne, potentially worth hundreds of thousands. Labour chair Anna Turley has written to the Reform UK leader asking for an explanation over the value of a private jet he was lent to travel to Mauritius as part of a failed stunt to visit the Chagos Islands. Mr Farage has declared the gift from Thailand-based businessman Mr Harborne as £25,000 – double his original declaration of £12,500. But Ms Turley claims the commercial market rate for private jet hire is $11,500 (£8,575) per hour and, as the flight was 23 hours and the plane was at Mr Farage’s disposal for two and a half days, the true value could be between $250,000 (£186,411) and $700,000 (£521,951). “Your valuation of that donation at £12,500 – later amended to £25,000 – bears no relation to the market rate for any other provider of the equivalent services available in the private jet charter industry,” Ms Turley said. The row comes after Mr Farage has faced questions, and a Parliamentary watchdog inquiry, over his failure to declare a £5m donation from Mr Harborne, which he claimed was a “gift” to pay for his personal security. Raising a number of questions about the loan of the private jet, Ms Turley warned: “If you fail to provide anything less than a full and accurate account, I will be obliged to raise the matter with the Parliamentary authorities.” Mr Farage said at the time that he had flown to the Maldives to join a delegation bringing “humanitarian aid” to Chagossians, who are trying to establish a settlement on one of the outer islands. He accused the British government of preventing him access to the Chagos Islands, as he campaigned against Sir Keir Starmer’s deal to transfer sovereignty of the territory to Mauritius. Mr Harborne’s donations to Mr Farage and Reform UK have been a subject of particular controversy for the party, after he gifted it £9m last August – the biggest single donation in history to a political party from a living person – and a further £3m this year. Mr Farage’s recent disclosure of the £5m “gift” from the crypto entrepreneur has prompted an investigation by Westminster’s standards watchdog into whether Mr Farage broke Commons rules by not declaring it after his election in 2024. Mr Farage has said the money was a “personal” gift he received before deciding to stand for Parliament again, and was meant to pay for his private security for the rest of his life, and later told The Sun it was a “reward for campaigning for Brexit for 27 years”. The Clacton MP faced further calls for transparency earlier this month after he was reported to have bought a £1.4m house with cash in 2024, shortly after receiving the gift from Mr Harborne. Reform UK has been contacted for a comment. Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments