Summary
Overview
This episode of Page 94 examines three major stories: the controversial £72 million in donations to Reform UK from crypto billionaires Ben D'Lo and Christopher Harbourn, the emerging threats and regulatory challenges around artificial intelligence development, and the rise of Danny Tomo's far-right 'black shorts' movement targeting migrants and journalists on Britain's coastline.
Reform UK's £72 Million Donation Scandal
The podcast opens with discussion of the massive £72 million donation to Reform UK from two billionaires - Ben D'Lo and Christopher Harbourn, each giving £36 million. D'Lo is a crypto entrepreneur who previously ran BitMEX, a cryptocurrency exchange that was found guilty of anti-money laundering violations by US prosecutors. Despite D'Lo's claims that this was merely a technical failing, he actually falsified records to hide customers' countries of residence, allowing sanctioned individuals from countries like Iran to use the platform. This donation raises serious questions about the influence of wealthy donors on British politics and the adequacy of current donation laws.
- Ben D'Lo and Christopher Harbourn each donated £36 million to Reform UK, totaling £72 million - representing about three quarters of all funds Reform has received in its history
- D'Lo was convicted of anti-money laundering violations and fined after running BitMEX, where he falsified internal tracking information to hide customers' countries of residence
- The US Department of Justice found D'Lo was essentially running a money laundering operation by allowing anyone to trade without proper checks
- These donations could allow Reform to spend up to the legal limit of £35 million nationally in elections, compared to their previous £5.5 million
- Reform is already under police investigation over a separate £5 million donation and a Channel 4 sting operation
" I want a fair fight and a level playing field. I would say if you're giving 36 million quid to a party you want an unfair fight and a non-level playing field, surely "
" You can deport people who are already here, retrospectively, but you can't investigate foreign businessmen who've moved here as a matter of patriotic duty "
Ben D'Lo's Criminal History and BitMEX Operations
The discussion delves deeper into Ben D'Lo's background, revealing that his conviction wasn't just about paperwork failures but involved actively deceiving regulators. He ran BitMEX from the Seychelles, deliberately changed records to circumvent US regulations, and allowed sanctioned individuals to use the platform. Despite receiving a 30-month probation sentence and large fine, D'Lo presents this history as merely not keeping sufficient customer records, omitting the falsification of documents entirely from his Telegraph essay defending the donation.
- D'Lo falsely changed internal tracking information to reflect customers' countries of residence as being other than the United States to avoid regulatory intervention
- BitMEX took on people from Iran without asking where their money came from, involving sanctions-related violations
- D'Lo pleaded guilty and received 30 months probation and a large fine for the violations
- The severity of D'Lo's record falsification doesn't feature in most media accounts, which describe it as merely failing to follow anti-money laundering rules
" Despite the fact that we ran an honest shop and never lost a penny of customer funds to a hack or misallocation, a US prosecutor went after us for not keeping sufficient records on our customers "
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