The convicted fraudster George Cottrell transferred more than $2m to his mother, Fiona Cottrell, in the days before her 2024 donations to Reform UK, according to information understood by . Financial industry sources said Fiona received one deposit of $1.4m and two tranches of more than $300,000 each, and told bankers the money had come from her son when they asked about the deposits.
On each occasion, understands that the transfers were made 24-72 hours before Fiona made a donation either directly to Reform, or via Britain Means Business, a fundraising vehicle for the political party. The new disclosures add to questions facing Reform and its leader, Nigel Farage, whose finances have been under scrutiny since reported that he received £5m from the crypto-billionaire Christopher Harborne.
According to sources, the lump sums went through US-based cryptocurrency exchanges before entering Fiona’s account. These platforms allow crypto-assets to be converted into hard currency, such as US dollars or British pounds. Some were routed to Fiona via money exchange services.
The Metropolitan police are investigating the funding of Reform UK, with a focus on scrutinising whether there were attempts to disguise the ultimate source of donations. The Met inquiry into Fiona Cottrell’s four donations in 2024 has been continuing for more than a year.
Fiona was one of the most important donors to the party in 2024, making secret as well as public donations. She gave two lots of £250,000 in May 2024, which were disclosed transparently to the Electoral Commission. It can be revealed that these donations were preceded by transfers of $318,878 and $328,815 from her son.
She also gave more than £1m to Britain Means Business, a company controlled by the party’s deputy leader, Richard Tice, in June 2024. That cash transfer was not declared officially at the time, and was routed via the bank account of Oneify, an Australian money exchange service. Half that sum was transferred directly to the party days later by Tice, with no declaration that it originated from Fiona Cottrell.
It can now be revealed that sources have told that $1,400,000 was deposited into Fiona Cottrell’s account by her son before she gave the £1,075,000 to Britain Means Business on 10 June 2024, just weeks before the general election. In total, George Cottrell deposited $2,047,693 into his mother’s account, has been told.
Taking into account her 2024 donations to Britain Means Business and Reform UK, Fiona gave a total of £1.5m that year. These amounts are roughly equivalent, based on exchange rate data from May and June 2024.
Two Reform UK sources who were involved in party fundraising before the 2024 vote told that George had assured senior party figures that some money would be on its way into the party’s coffers in the weeks leading up to the vote.
“He was acting as a sort of shadow treasurer, saying he would find a way to get more money in,”one of the sources said.
Asked about the transfers, lawyers for George Cottrell said their client had no further comment. In previous legal correspondence, George has not denied giving his mother – who is understood to be of relatively modest means – large sums of money. Instead, he said via lawyers that
“any political donations his mother has made have been entirely her own decision, and are a matter for her”.Fiona Cottrell has not responded to several attempts by to contact her.
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George Cottrell, a convicted fraudster whom Farage has described as being
“like a son to me”, lives in Montenegro and has said he is resident there for tax purposes. He has been described as Farage’s chief of staff by Reform insiders, even though the party maintains that he is only a volunteer.
His lawyers have said he is a permissible donor, despite living abroad, but have not explained how he meets the criteria or when he first met them. The only declared donation George Cottrell made to Reform in 2024 was that December, where he met Elon Musk.
It comes as pressure mounts on Reform’s leadership to explain the lack of transparency, and apparent overlap, between personal funders and political backers.
revealed in recent weeks that Tice had received an undisclosed loan of £80,000 from George Cottrell, who has also donated to Reform UK.
In April, this newspaper revealed that £5m had been given to Farage from the party’s most important donor, Harborne.
Several of these transactions caused bankers to raise potential money-laundering concerns with the UK’s National Crime Agency, via suspicious activity reports (SARs), according to financial industry sources.
After the Clacton byelection, Farage faces investigations by the parliamentary standards commissioner into whether he should have declared the £5m and also over benefits in kind given by George Cottrell.
In an interview with the Telegraph last week, Farage appeared for the first time to acknowledge that he should have declared the £5m on the register of MPs’ interests:
“All right, perhaps I should have filled in a piece of paper. If that’s the worst thing I’ve done in life – not filling in a form – I would say that’s not too bad.”
Tice has failed to engage with questions about his loan from George Cottrell and decision to transfer £500,000 to Reform UK from Britain Means Business despite bankers raising concerns with him about the origin of the funds. He has accused the Metropolitan police of being involved in a smear campaign against him and briefing the media. He posted on X:
“The Establishment are playing dirtier than ever to try to smear & discredit Reform leaders.”
The Met investigation into Fiona Cottrell’s four donations in 2024 has been continuing for more than a year. The Met issued this statement on its investigation in recent weeks:
“An investigation was launched in February 2025 after a referral was made to the Electoral Commission relating to donations made to a political party ahead of the 2024 UK general election.
“Detectives from the Met’s special inquiry team are investigating alleged offences under section 61 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. Early investigative advice has been sought from the Crown Prosecution Service and two people have so far been interviewed under caution. No arrests have been made.
“An offence under this section is not one that the Electoral Commission can investigate and, as such, it is a matter for the police.”
Asked whether Reform had been assured that George Cottrell would find a way to provide funds, and was regarded as a shadow treasurer, a spokesperson said:
“We deny this completely. Reform takes pride in its stringent vetting of donations and always ensures that the Electoral Commission guidelines on donations, as set out in the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, are strictly followed, as has been the case with all donations.”
How did the transfers work?
understands that the money moved from George Cottrell to Fiona Cottrell in several large deposits, with the funds entering her account shortly before she made donations to Reform UK or Britain Means Business. Financial industry sources said some of the money passed through US-based cryptocurrency exchanges before being converted into hard currency and, in some cases, routed through money exchange services before reaching Fiona’s account.
The timing of the transfers is central to the scrutiny, because on each occasion the deposits were made 24-72 hours before Fiona made a donation. Sources said bankers asked about the funds and Fiona attributed them to her son.
Those deposits included one of $1.4m and two more transfers of more than $300,000 each. Taken together, has been told, George Cottrell deposited $2,047,693 into his mother’s account.
What donations did Fiona Cottrell make?
Fiona Cottrell was one of Reform UK’s most significant donors in 2024, making both declared and undeclared contributions. In May 2024, she gave two donations of £250,000 each, which were disclosed to the Electoral Commission. understands those donations were preceded by transfers of $318,878 and $328,815 from George Cottrell.
In June 2024, she gave more than £1m to Britain Means Business, the company controlled by Richard Tice. That donation, which totalled £1,075,000, was not formally declared at the time and was routed through Oneify, the Australian money exchange service. Days later, half of that amount was transferred directly to the party by Tice, without a declaration that it originated from Fiona Cottrell.
Including her 2024 donations to Britain Means Business and Reform UK, Fiona gave a total of £1.5m that year. said these sums are roughly equivalent based on exchange rate data from May and June 2024.
What is Reform UK saying?
A Reform UK spokesperson denied that George Cottrell had acted as a shadow treasurer or that party figures had been told he would bring in money. The spokesperson said Reform takes pride in its vetting of donations and follows Electoral Commission rules under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. According to the party, those rules have been followed with all donations.
Why are the donations under scrutiny?
The disclosures intensify pressure on Reform’s leadership over transparency and the overlap between personal funders and political backers. revealed in recent weeks that Tice had received an undisclosed loan of £80,000 from George Cottrell, and in April reported that Farage had received £5m from Harborne, the party’s most important donor.
Financial industry sources said several of these transactions prompted bankers to raise possible money-laundering concerns with the UK’s National Crime Agency through suspicious activity reports. The Metropolitan police investigation into Fiona Cottrell’s donations has now been under way for more than a year, and the force said it launched an investigation in February 2025 after a referral from the Electoral Commission relating to donations made ahead of the 2024 UK general election.
The Met said detectives from its special inquiry team are investigating alleged offences under section 61 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, that early advice had been sought from the Crown Prosecution Service, that two people had been interviewed under caution, and that no arrests had been made. It added that the Electoral Commission cannot investigate offences under that section and that the matter is for the police.
After the Clacton byelection, Farage faces investigations by the parliamentary standards commissioner into whether he should have declared the £5m and over benefits in kind given by George Cottrell. In an interview with the Telegraph last week, Farage said:
“All right, perhaps I should have filled in a piece of paper. If that’s the worst thing I’ve done in life – not filling in a form – I would say that’s not too bad.”
Tice has not answered questions about his loan from George Cottrell or about his decision to transfer £500,000 to Reform UK from Britain Means Business after bankers raised concerns with him about where the money came from. He accused the Metropolitan police of taking part in a smear campaign and briefing the media, and wrote on X:
“The Establishment are playing dirtier than ever to try to smear & discredit Reform leaders.”
What do George Cottrell’s lawyers say?
Asked about the transfers, George Cottrell’s lawyers said he had no further comment. In earlier legal correspondence, they did not deny that he had given his mother large sums of money. Instead, they said through lawyers that
“any political donations his mother has made have been entirely her own decision, and are a matter for her”.
George Cottrell, whom Farage has called
“like a son to me”, lives in Montenegro and says he is resident there for tax purposes. Reform insiders have described him as Farage’s chief of staff, though the party says he is only a volunteer. His lawyers say he is a permissible donor despite living abroad, but have not explained how he meets the criteria or when he first met them. The only declared donation George Cottrell made to Reform in 2024 was in December, when he met Elon Musk.
Key Facts
- George Cottrell transferred $2,047,693 into Fiona Cottrell’s account, according to sources cited by .
- Fiona Cottrell made £1.5m in donations in 2024 to Reform UK and Britain Means Business.
- Two Reform UK sources said George Cottrell told senior figures that money would be on its way into the party’s coffers before the 2024 vote.
- The Metropolitan police investigation into Fiona Cottrell’s donations began in February 2025 after a referral from the Electoral Commission.
