Brexit bankroller faces probe over donations

Arron Banks, a British insurance mogul, was referred to Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) yesterday after an investigation into Brexit campaign funding concluded that payments he purportedly made to pro-Brexit groups came from “impermissible” sources.

Banks now faces a criminal investigation over suspected illegal campaign funding during the 2016 referendum in which Britain voted 52 per cent to 48 per cent to leave the European Union.

One of the “Bad Boys of Brexit” who have come under scrutiny for ties to Russia and the Trump presidential campaign, Banks was famously pictured with Donald Trump and the British politician Nigel Farage at Trump Tower soon after Trump was elected. In Britain, parliamentary investigators have probed his dealings with the Russian ambassador in London, which Banks described as routine business exchanges.

Britain’s Electoral Commission, which spent the past year looking into Brexit campaign funding, said it has found “reasonable grounds” to suspect that Banks was not the “true source” of the US$10 million ($15m) in loans given to Leave. EU, the pro-Brexit group headed by Farage, and its parent company, Better for the Country.

Noting that “various criminal offences may have been committed,” the watchdog group said it was referring the matter to the NCA, which has broader powers, including the authority to pursue international leads. It normally investigates serious and organised crime.

The NCA said in a separate statement that it would be investigating possible offences beyond violations of electoral law.

Banks, whose pro- Brexit contributions made him the largest political donor in British history, said he welcomed the NCA’s involvement.

“I am confident that a full and frank investigation will finally put an end to the ludicrous allegations levelled against me and my colleagues,” he said in a statement.