National Crime Agency to probe
● Criminal investigation opened into Leave group led by Arron Banks over claims he wasn’t the real source of its funding
The government is facing calls to halt Brexit after it emerged that one of the leading figures in the campaign to leave the EU is under investigation over donations during the referendum.
Leave campaigner Arron Banks is being investigated by the National Crime Agency (NCA) for “suspected criminal offences” committed during the Brexit campaign.
Theprobehasbeenlaunched after the elections watchdog said it had reasonable grounds to suspect that Mr Banks was not the true source of £8 million worth of loans made during the regulated referendum period.
Leave.eu, co-founded by Mr Banks, its chief executive Elizabeth Bilney and the organisation that ran it, Better for the Country, are also being investigated by the NCA after a review carried out by the Electoral Commission.
Bob Posner, the commission’s director of political finance, said: “We have reasonable grounds to suspect money given to Better for the Country came from impermissible sources and that Mr Banks and Ms Bilney, the responsible person for Leave. EU, knowingly concealed the true circumstances under
BOB POSNER which this money was provided.
“This is significant because at least £2.9m of this money was used to fund referendum spending and donations during the regulated period of the EU referendum.
“Our investigation has unveiled evidence that suggests criminal offences have been committed which fall beyond the remit of the Commission.
“This is why we have handed our evidence to the NCA to allow them to investigate and take any appropriate law enforcement action. This is now a criminal investigation.”
The Electoral Commission added that it had investigated transactions originating from the Isle of Man, which is not part of the United Kingdom. By law, all donations to registered election campaign bodies must come from the UK.
In a statement, the NCA said: “While electoral law offences would not routinely fall within the NCA’S remit, the nature of the necessary inquiries and the potential for offences to have been committed other than under electoral law lead us to consider an NCA investigation appropriate in this instance.
“This is now a live investigation, and we are unable to discuss any operational detail.”
Mr Banks, one of the founders of the Leave.eu campaign, said he was confident the investigation would “put an end to the ludicrous allegations” against him and appeared unfazed by the allegations while he enjoyed a fishing trip in Bermuda.
He claimed the Electoral Commission’s decision to refer him to the NCA was the result of “intense political pressure from anti-brexit supporters”.
Mr Banks said: “There is no evidence of any wrongdoing from the companies I own. I am a UK taxpayer and I have never received any foreign donations. The Electoral Commission has produced no evidence to the contrary.”
Ms Bilney also accused the commission of having a “biased approach” in its investigations and said she was confident she would be “exonerated”.
She told BBC Radio 4’s World At One programme: “I hope that the matter will be shortly concluded to demonstrate that no crimes have been committed.
“They are looking at it how they want to through their own biased lens,” she added.
Mr Banks was criticised by the Commons digital, culture, media and sport committee earlier this year for seeming to “want to hide the extent of his contacts with Russia”.
But Ms Bilney dismissed suggestions that some of the money may have come from Russia.
“I run the group of companies where the money was from and we don’t have any transactions that are from Russia,” she said. “I am completely comfortable that we have done everything above board.”
Asked if the Prime Minister remained confident the referendum was fair, a Downing Street spokeswoman said: “The referendum was the largest democratic exercise in this country’s history and the PM is getting on with delivering its result.”
Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesperson Tom Brake said: “This is an extremely concerning development. People have known for a long time that the Brexiter ranks were filled with dodgy demagogues, today’s news will be little surprise.”
0 Arron Banks was criticised earlier in the year for seeming to ‘want
“Our investigation has unveiled evidence that suggests criminal offences have been committed which fall beyond the remit of the commission”