UK election watchdog to update rules on crypto-based political donations

The UK’s Electoral Commission is planning to update its approach to crypto-based political financing. This comes after Reform UK, a major political party, informed the commission that it had received a crypto donation in recent weeks.

According to reports, a spokesperson for the regulator said, “We will be updating our guidance on crypto donations shortly […] The Commission continues to review and adapt the support we provide to parties and monitor the ways they accept donations.”

So far, several areas of UK crypto regulation are clear, including requirements for financial promotions, anti-money laundering measures, and the legal recognition of crypto assets as property. However, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and other regulators still have more regulations underway. 

Nigel Farage, head of the Reform UK party, criticized the UK’s slow progress in creating crypto regulations and urged quick action. 

The current laws on crypto-based donation

According to Simon Steeden, a Partner at London-based legal firm Bates Wells, UK electoral law does not specifically address crypto-based donations in any way. The main legislation on donations dates from 1983 and 2000 and has only been updated since then “in a piecemeal manner.”

That said, donations worth more than $663 must come only from “permissible donors,” who should generally be based in the UK.

“Parties have to reject donations if they are unable to ascertain the identity of the donor (so that they can check they are permissible),” he explained. “In general, parties must take ‘all reasonable steps’ to verify or ascertain the identity of the donor and whether they are permissible.”

Additionally, details of anonymous donations must be reported to the Electoral Commission, the UK’s electoral regulator, as do donations exceeding £11,180 or $14,905. The UK Government has declared its intention to reform electoral law, including the extension of the vote to 16- and 17-year-olds, as well as a tightening of rules surrounding donations.

A spokesperson for the Election Commission said that the upcoming changes would “close long-standing loopholes in electoral finance law” and work with the Government’s planned electoral reforms to make the process more transparent and build trust among voters.

Scrutiny over crypto donations in the world

According to Nigel Farage’s party, Reform UK, the value of the donation received is unknown. “All donations above the reporting limit will be disclosed in the usual way,” a spokesperson for Reform UK said. Therefore, it does not suggest that the funding was outside the window for formal declarations.

Additionally, Reform UK’s crypto payments processor, Radom, is based in Poland and is not a currency registered or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This means that the platform falls outside the regulator’s anti-money laundering supervision.

Although all indications suggest that Reform UK is not breaking any laws, politicians and transparency campaigners have also raised concerns about the risks posed by introducing digital assets into political financing. There are also concerns that the regulator lacks the necessary skills and resources to thoroughly scrutinize transactions.

As reported by Cryptopolitan, the ministers of the British government stated that crypto is a potential vehicle for laundering foreign money, paying bribes, and financing political campaigns. They call it an existential threat to the country’s democracy.

Besides the UK, other countries around the world are considering regulating or banning cryptocurrency donations to political campaigns. Like many democracies, Ireland aimed to shield its democracy from “foreign interference,” fake news, and clandestine campaign financing.

It’s different in the United States, state by state. A handful of states, including Oregon, Michigan, and North Carolina, have outlawed donations made in crypto altogether. They raised questions around traceability and transparency. 

Some states, like California, had bans in place but rolled back those restrictions so money from crypto could again flow into campaigns, as happened when the new year arrived.  El Salvador, which made Bitcoin legal tender, permits political donations in crypto. However, civic groups have cautioned that external forces can easily manipulate the democratic process anonymously.

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