Reform UK's bank account was frozen for a two-week period during a recent election due to concerns over potentially illegal donations from Fiona Cottrell, the mother of businessman George Cottrell.
During the period including polling day on July 4, 2022, the party was unable to conduct transactions through its account with Arbuthnot Latham, a private London bank. The bank cited 'compliance checks' when asked for an explanation by the party, according to reports.
The bank had filed suspicious activity reports to the National Crime Agency concerning approximately £1 million in donations from Ms. Cottrell. Described as a 'retired stylist,' she reportedly donated £500,000 directly to Reform UK. An additional £1 million was donated to a firm owned by Reform UK's deputy leader, Richard Tice, with half of that sum subsequently transferred to the party.
Police opened an investigation into these payments in February of last year, focusing on whether Ms. Cottrell had disguised the source of the funds. These developments come after previous revelations that George Cottrell, an associate of Nigel Farage, had secretly financed Farage's staff, security, and accommodation expenses prior to the last general election. Farage has stated he is under no obligation to disclose these gifts as he was not a Member of Parliament at the time, though parliamentary rules typically require registration of benefits received within 12 months of an election.
George Cottrell was previously jailed in the U.S. in 2017 for a money laundering conspiracy. It has also emerged that he paid an ally of Donald Trump, Mark Brnovich, who was then the attorney-general in Arizona, where Cottrell was convicted. Brnovich, who accepted thousands of dollars from Cottrell for 'legal advice,' was later nominated for an ambassadorship by Trump. Brnovich died in January.
Cottrell maintains a friendship with Brnovich's wife, Susan Brnovich, a federal judge appointed by Trump. Reports indicate that Cottrell displays copies of text messages between Trump and Mark Brnovich at his residence in Montenegro, where he is a tax resident. Susan Brnovich reportedly visited Cottrell's penthouse in Montenegro.
Arbuthnot Latham declined to comment on the account freeze. A spokesperson for Reform UK stated, 'This story follows a number of smear stories of which many are factually untrue.'
George Cottrell has described Mark Brnovich as a 'personal friend' and has characterized reports linking his wife's social visit to his pardon application as an attempt to intimidate him and those around him. He maintains that Judge Brnovich has no say in his pardon application and was visiting Montenegro on a family holiday.