Britain tightens rules on political donations from abroad

Britain has tightened rules on foreign political donations as part of measures aimed at preventing the influence of foreign funding on elections.

As European Pravda writes, this was reported by the press service of the British government.

Britain is introducing restrictions on foreign donations against the backdrop of Reform UK leader Nigel Farage coming under investigation by the parliamentary standards watchdog over a donation of 5 million pounds sterling ($6.68 million) from Thai cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne.

Over the past year, Farage's party has received about 12 million pounds sterling from the Thai cryptocurrency investor, raising concerns about the transparency of such donations.

The government's new measures include restrictions on large political donations from people who have recently moved to Britain. In effect, a minimum period of one calendar year is established during which a person must have continuously resided in the country before they can donate to a political party or candidate an amount exceeding the established limit — more than 100,000 pounds sterling.

In addition, political candidates will now be required to declare donations exceeding 2,230 pounds sterling received before they became candidates and to prove that any funding received prior to their nomination came from legitimate sources.

Other new measures include stricter checks on donations from companies, tougher transparency requirements for candidates, and the closing of loopholes that could be exploited by those seeking to interfere in British elections.

"For too long, foreign money, foreign bot farms and foreign states have exploited the system in an attempt to distort our elections and sow division in our country for their own ends. We are taking tough action against those trying to buy — and sell — our democracy and putting the British people first," said Darren Jones, the British prime minister's chief secretary.