Tether-linked billionaire gave £24M to UK politics — new rules may now ban that entirely.

Christopher Harborne, a British-born, Thailand-based investor with a reported 12% stake in Tether, has donated more than £24 million to Reform UK and its predecessor movements since 2019 — roughly two-thirds of all funding the party has ever received. His £9 million contribution in late 2025 set a record as the largest single donation by a living person to a UK political party. Reform's platform includes a state Bitcoin reserve, a 10% flat CGT on crypto, and opposition to Bank of England stablecoin limits — positions that closely mirror the financial interests of its dominant backer.

The Rycroft Review, published March 25 2026, found that foreign financial interference in UK politics has become a worsening problem, with crypto wealth specifically cited as difficult to trace under existing law. Communities Secretary Steve Reed told the Commons the threat has grown more acute.

The…