Headline: Nigel Farage probed over alleged lobbying of Bank of England tied to major Tether investor Nigel Farage is under scrutiny after a Labour MP asked the UK Parliament’s standards watchdog to investigate whether the Reform UK leader lobbied the Bank of England on crypto policy in a way that could have benefited one of his biggest backers — a major investor in stablecoin issuer Tether. What’s alleged - Labour MP Phil Brickell has asked Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Daniel Greenberg to examine whether Farage breached parliamentary rules by meeting Bank officials after receiving sizable financial support from British billionaire Christopher Harborne. - Parliamentary rules bar MPs from lobbying ministers or public officials on behalf of people who have paid them within the previous 12 months. - Brickell says Farage publicly backed Tether, criticized planned limits on stablecoins, and promised to challenge the Bank of England’s stance before a private meeting with Governor Andrew Bailey — later claiming he had persuaded the Bank to soften its approach. The meeting and policy moves - The complaint centers on a private September 2025 meeting between Farage and Bailey, during which Farage reportedly urged the Bank to abandon plans for a UK central bank digital currency (“Britcoin”). Farage has previously vowed he would rather go to prison than support a digital pound. - Within weeks, the Bank of England dropped a proposed £20,000 cap on individual stablecoin holdings — a limit Farage had publicly attacked. Farage has since asserted he influenced the decision. - The Bank of England says the September meeting was part of routine engagement with politicians, that the governor and Farage held different views on a digital pound, and it has not published minutes or further details. Money, donors and potential conflicts - The probe has a financial backdrop: Christopher Harborne, a British businessman based in Thailand who owns a reported 12% stake in Tether (issuer of USDT) and sits high on the Sunday Times Rich List, has been a major donor to Farage and Reform UK. - The Guardian reported Farage accepted an undeclared £5 million gift from Harborne before the July 2024 general election — a payment later questioned by Greenberg in a separate inquiry about whether it should have been declared. Because Farage had not yet declared candidacy at that time, the payment was not registered with parliamentary authorities. - Harborne also reportedly made two smaller £25,000 donations to Farage in January 2025 and February 2026 to fund trips to the US and the Chagos Islands, and gave Reform UK a further £15 million during the same period. - Brickell has argued the issue goes beyond crypto policy: should an MP who has received millions from one donor push policies that could raise the value of that donor’s investments? Political reactions and defenses - Farage and Harborne say the billionaire expected nothing in return; Farage has called the £5 million unconditional and a private matter, though explanations for the payment have shifted over time. - Reform UK rejected the lobbying allegations as “utter rubbish.” Labour says Farage is avoiding proper scrutiny. - Separately, Labour MP Joe Powell has written to Andrew Bailey seeking details of the September meeting, arguing that decisions shaping the UK’s financial system — including a digital pound — should be made transparently and in the public interest, not via private discussions that could advantage individual investors. Why crypto watchers should care - The inquiry touches on key tensions in UK crypto policy: the balance between private stakeholder engagement and transparent policymaking, the influence of wealthy donors with crypto exposure, and the future of a digital pound versus private stablecoin frameworks. - Farage has been a vocal supporter of digital assets, proposing a UK strategic Bitcoin reserve and urging tax relief for crypto investors — positions that make the allegations particularly salient to the crypto community. What happens next - Daniel Greenberg’s probe will determine whether parliamentary rules were breached. The outcome could have reputational and political ramifications for Farage and raise wider questions about donor influence over UK crypto regulation. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news