Brexit backer Arron Banks referred to UK crime agency

The UK’s National Crime Agency is investigating Brexit’s biggest funder, Arron Banks, over alleged offences committed during the EU referendum campaign, after a referral by the electoral watchdog.

The Electoral Commission, which held its own investigation, said there were reasonable grounds to suspect that Mr Banks, who backed the pro-Brexit Leave.EU campaign, had not provided funds worth £8 million (Dh38.1m).

The watchdog said it suspected the money had come “from impermissible sources”.

“Due to multiple suspected offences, some of which fall outside the commission’s remit, the commission has referred this matter and handed its evidence to the National Crime Agency,” the Electoral Commission said.

The criminal investigation will focus on Leave.EU, Mr Banks and the company Better for the Country, of which he is the director and which was used to finance the Leave. EU campaign.

Another senior figure in Leave.EU, Elizabeth Bilney, was also referred to the NCA.

“Our investigation relates to suspected electoral law offences ... as well as any associated offences,” the NCA said on Thursday, but said it could not discuss any “operational detail”.

Politicians had called for the investigation to discover whether any “dark money”, in particular from Russia, had influenced the 2016 referendum.

UK law essentially bans financial donations being made to electoral campaigns from overseas or foreign donors.

Mr Banks said on Thursday he welcomed the investigation. He denied any foreign money had played a role in his campaign.

“The electoral commission have said offences may have been committed, but have provided no evidence,” he told Reuters.

“As usual, the Electoral Commission is batting for the Remainers in parliament.”

Leave.EU was the unofficial pro-Brexit campaign supported by the UK Independence Party leader at the time, Nigel Farage.

It was separate to the official Vote Leave group, which was backed by senior politicians such as Boris Johnson and Michael Gove.

Mr Banks appeared before politicians this summer to answer questions about links to Russian officials in the lead-up to the referendum.

He dismissed questions about his Russian connections as a “full-scale witchhunt”, while admitting to having met Russia’s ambassador to Britain three times before June 23, 2016.

But after the parliamentary inquiry, reports surfaced that Mr Banks had met Alexander Yakovenko 11 times in the months before the vote, and he was said to have discussed lucrative business deals in these meetings.