Revealed: George Cottrell transferred $2m to his mother days before her donations to Reform UK

Metropolitan Police Investigate Reform UK Donations

The Metropolitan police are investigating payments made to Reform UK via a company controlled by the party's deputy leader, Richard Tice, according to reports from The Guardian. The inquiry focuses on two £250,000 donations made by Britain Means Business in the weeks before the 2024 general election, as well as two direct donations from Fiona Cottrell to the party.

Financial industry sources told The Guardian that Fiona Cottrell received transfers totaling more than $2m from her son, George Cottrell, a convicted fraudster with close links to Reform leader Nigel Farage. These transfers reportedly occurred 24 to 72 hours before Fiona made donations either directly to Reform or through Britain Means Business. The money is said to have passed through US-based cryptocurrency exchanges before entering Fiona's account.

The Guardian previously revealed that Fiona Cottrell made a £1m transfer to Britain Means Business shortly before the donations were made, with about half of those funds then passed to the party. Both Fiona and George Cottrell have been interviewed under criminal caution as part of the police investigation, according to The Guardian.

Electoral Commission Asked to Review Donations

Labour's chair, Bridget Phillipson, has written to the Electoral Commission asking it to examine whether Reform UK has complied with donation rules. The commission has already referred the matter to the Metropolitan police, who are investigating whether Reform may have concealed or disguised donations derived from an impermissible donor.

In her letter, Phillipson said The Guardian's revelations "may be relevant to the question of whether the true source of political donations made to Reform UK has been correctly identified and whether the statutory requirements governing permissible donors have been complied with."

Reform UK Responds

Richard Tice, who is the sole director of Britain Means Business, said in response to a BBC inquiry about the police investigation: "This is the first I have heard of it – if true why are the Met police briefing the BBC before contacting interested parties? Is the Met leadership now engaged in the widespread politically motivated smear campaign against Reform and its leaders?"

Reform's economics spokesperson, Robert Jenrick, said the party is "entirely confident that Reform followed all electoral rules at the time when the donations were made" and that the party would participate with any inquiries. He noted that, to his knowledge, the party had not yet been contacted by police.

The investigations come amid broader scrutiny of Reform UK's finances, including a previously reported £5m gift to Nigel Farage from crypto-billionaire Christopher Harborne.