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Karla Adam
London correspondent covering the United Kingdom
LONDON – Arron Banks, a British insurance giant, was referred Thursday to the British equivalent of the FBI after a Brexit campaign funding survey concluded that the payments that were made by the US government to the US were not the same. allegedly made to pro-Brexit groups came from "unauthorized" sources.
Banks are now the subject of a criminal investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA) on alleged illegal campaign funding in the 2016 referendum, during which Britain voted between 52% and 48% to leave the European Union.
One of the "Bad Boys of Brexit" who was examined for his ties to Russia and Trump's presidential campaign, Banks was famous with President Trump and the British Euroskeptic politician Nigel Farage at Trump Tower shortly after his election. In Britain, parliamentary investigators probed his relationship with the Russian ambassador in London, which Banks described as routine trade.
[How the ‘Bad Boys of Brexit’ forged ties with Russia and the Trump campaign — and came under investigators’ scrutiny]
The British Electoral Commission, which spent last year reviewing Brexit's campaign financing, said in a statement Thursday that it had "reasonable grounds to suspect" that Banks was not the "real source" of the $ 10 million loan granted to Leave.EU, the prox group Brexit headed by Farage and its parent company, Better for the Country.
Noting that "various criminal offenses may have been committed", the monitoring group stated that it referred the case back to the NCA, which has broader powers, including the power to seek international leads. . It normally investigates serious and organized crimes.
The NCA has indicated in a separate statement that it will investigate possible offenses other than violations of the electoral law.
Banks, whose contributions to Brexit have made him the largest political contributor in British history, welcomed the NCA's participation.
"I am convinced that a full and frank inquiry will finally put an end to the ridiculous allegations made against me and my colleagues," he said. declaration. ". . . I am a British taxpayer and I have never received foreign donations. "
Banks, a colorful figure and combative force on social media, also tweeted a selfie smiling about himself in Bermuda, where he said he was fishing.
[The brash British millionaire who backed Brexit, befriended the Russian ambassador and loves Trump]
Elizabeth Bilney, President of the Leave.EU campaign, was also referred to the NCA. She told the BBC that she had done nothing wrong and had predicted that she would be exonerated, as well as Banks.
When asked if she could justify Banks' claim that none of the funds came from Russia, she replied, "I can confirm that it would not have come from Russia." I run the group of companies from which the money comes and we have no transactions from Russia. "
Pro-Europeans said the new survey reinforced arguments for a second Brexit referendum.
"This is an important project," said Liberal Democrat legislator tweeted Wera Hobhouse. "Where was the money spent for #let campaign comes from? Even more urgent now to get @peoplesvote_uk"
Other opposition lawmakers have said that Brexit should be postponed.
"Brexit must be suspended until we know the magnitude of these crimes against our democracy," tweeted Labor legislator David Lammy.
The Electoral Commission said some of the loans to the Brexit campaign groups came from the Rock Holdings bank corporation, incorporated in the Isle of Man, an autonomous dependency of the crown and thus an "inadmissible" source within the meaning of the British electoral law.
UK political campaigns are prohibited from taking money from foreign companies and individuals during certain periods. In the past, Banks had criticized its links with companies in Gibraltar, as well as with the Isle of Man, places offering extremely low taxes.
Damian Collins, chairman of a parliamentary committee that has already interviewed Banks, the businessman who made the headlines when he retired early in the session, said his committee would be questioning the Electoral Commission next week on the new investigation.
"These are serious questions that the NCA should fully investigate, using all its powers," he said.
Banks said he was being investigated because of "intense political pressure from anti-Brexit supporters".
Read more:
Did Brexit activists cheat? And if so, what does it mean?
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