Donations received by Defence Secretary Wes Streeting linked to a figure associated with convicted fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried are under review by the UK Electoral Commission. The watchdog is assessing approximately £37,000 in contributions made through the think tank Labour for the Long Term, which funded a staff member in Streeting’s office during his tenure as shadow health secretary between 2022 and 2023.
The donations followed shortly after the think tank’s founder, David Lawrence, received a £500,000 gift from Bankman-Fried, who was later convicted in the United States for orchestrating a multibillion-dollar cryptocurrency fraud. Bankman-Fried is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence in California. His fraudulent activities included using stolen funds to make over $100 million in political donations, primarily to the Democratic Party, ahead of the 2022 US midterm elections.
Reform UK chairman Lee Anderson formally referred the matter to the Electoral Commission, calling for a thorough investigation into the “permissibility and true source” of the donations ahead of the 2024 general election. Anderson is also urging the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner to look into the issue.
The Electoral Commission acknowledged it is conducting a regulatory review and will determine whether a formal investigation is warranted. A spokesperson for the watchdog described the process as an ongoing assessment under its remit.
Streeting’s office maintains that the donations were not directly linked to Bankman-Fried’s funds. However, internal Labour sources reportedly advised other potential recipients to avoid accepting money from Lawrence due to the suspicions surrounding his connections. Lawrence denies using Bankman-Fried’s gift to finance the donation and states that the funds given by Bankman-Fried were directed to UK charities, while the donation to Streeting originated from a different wealthy benefactor.
Despite the concerns, the Labour Party is understood not to have reported any doubts about the source of Streeting’s funding to the Electoral Commission. Lawrence had briefly been selected as a Labour parliamentary candidate for Basingstoke but withdrew after the party became aware of his association with Bankman-Fried.
The situation highlights a broader issue within UK electoral law, as “unincorporated associations” like Labour for the Long Term are not required to disclose detailed funding sources to Companies House. This status can potentially allow foreign donors to channel money into British politics without transparent public records. The Electoral Commission has previously warned that this legal loophole poses risks of undisclosed foreign influence.
Streeting denies any wrongdoing in relation to the donations, emphasizing that there is no direct evidence connecting him to Bankman-Fried’s funds. The matter remains under active review by election regulators as scrutiny intensifies ahead of the upcoming general election.