Boris Johnson received record $1.2M donation from serial crypto investor
TL;DR Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has reportedly received a £1 million ($1.2 million) donation from Thailand-based cryptocurrency investor and Bitfinex/Tether parent company shareholder, Christopher Harborne. The donation is said to be the largest ever given to an individual MP on record. It is also revealed that Johnson made more than a quarter of a million pounds from the blockchain company ParallelChain Lab for a talk he gave in Singapore.
Former UK prime minister Boris Johnson has reportedly received a record-breaking £1 million ($1.2 million) donation from a Thailand-based cryptocurrency investor and Tether">Bitifinex/Tether parent company shareholder.
Friday’s updated register of interests reveals how Christopher Harborne made the record gift to Boris Johnson LTD, the former PM’s political office that funds his activities.
NEW: The £1m donation to Boris Johnson from a Thai-based crypto investor is the largest EVER to an individual MP on record.
It's smashed the previous record by x6 – a £150k donation to Michael Gove in 2009.
Big BIG money. What could he possibly be planning to use it for? 🤔 — Tom Larkin (@TomLarkinSky) January 13, 2023
The register also discloses how Johnson made more than a quarter of a million pounds from the blockchain company ParallelChain Lab for a talk he gave in Singapore.
In 2021, Protos reported how Harborne, using his alter ego, Chakrit Sakunkrit, held shares in Digifinex (Bitfinex and Tethers’ parent company) between 2017 and 2018. In 2019, Harborne began to contribute funding to pro-Brexit campaigns and has reportedly donated £15 million ($18.3 million) to the UK’s Conservative Party, the Brexit Party, and Reform UK.
Backing Boris and crypto
Harborne has previously been involved in several blockchain and crypto-focused groups, including:
Digital Currencies Governance Group (DCGG), a set of UK crypto advocates that listed Harborne as a lobbyist during its first six months.
INSEAD’s Blockchain Research Fund, a blockchain initiative funded by Harborne and created by his former university. INSEAD is also a listed partner of DCGG.
Seamico Securities, a financial services company. Harborne is listed by Bloomberg under his Thai identity as a former board member. Four years ago, Seamico made plans to tokenize the real estate industry.
Singular AI Consulting Limited, a tech company (dissolved as of October 2022) co-founded by Harborne and Genesis co-founder and CEO, Marco Andreas Streng.
Johnson resigned in July 2022 after a series of scandals.