Arron Banks and other Brexit campaigners referred to National Crime Agency over 'suspected criminal offences' during referendum

Ukip backer accused of ‘multiple’ criminal offences after electoral watchdog probe into source of £8m funding

Arron Banks and other leading pro-Brexit campaigners are being investigated by the National Crime Agency (NCA) over suspicions they committed “multiple” criminal offences during the EU referendum.

The Brexiteers were referred to police by the Electoral Commission, which said it had grounds to believe they had committed numerous criminal acts relating to millions of pounds of funding for the Leave.EU campaign.

The Commission suggested Mr Banks was “not the true source” of £8m of donations.

It follows an investigation by the watchdog into Leave.EU’s spending during the 2016 campaign.

The group has already been fined £70,000 over spending irregularities. It was bankrolled by Mr Banks, a major donor to Ukip, and featured senior Brexiteers including Nigel Farage.

It was managed under the umbrella of the Better for the Country group, which has also been referred to the NCA.

The agency has opened a criminal investigation into the matter.

Labour MP David Lammy said Brexit should be halted until the inquiry is completed.

He said: “Brexit must be put on hold until we know the extent of these [alleged] crimes against our democracy.”

The probe centres on £8m of funding that was reportedly given to Better for the Country by Mr Banks.

In an explosive statement set to reignite controversy over the funding of pro-Brexit groups, the Electoral Commission said it believed the businessman was “not the true source” of the money. Mr Banks is already reportedly the subject of an NCA investigation focusing on his his links to Russia.

His funding of Better for the Country consisted of £6m in donations funnelled through Leave.EU, and an additional £2m in loans, while £2.9m of the money was spent on funding Leave.EU campaign spending and donations to other pro-Brexit groups.

Raising questions about the source of the funding, the Electoral Commission said the money was channelled through an “impermissible” company called Rock Holdings Limited, which is registered in the Isle of Man tax haven. Only companies registered in the UK are allowed to make campaign donations.

The watchdog suggested Mr Banks, along with Leave.EU chief executive Elizabeth Bilney and others, “concealed the true details of these financial transactions” and had been referred to police.

It said it believed multiple offences had been committed but that many fall outside the watchdog’s remit, and had therefore been passed to the NCA.

Leave.EU has already been fined for exceeding its campaign spending limits but the latest revelations raise the prospect that the money also came from illegal sources outside the UK.

Bob Posner, the Electoral Commission’s legal counsel and director of political finance and regulation, said: “We have reasonable grounds to suspect money given to Better for the Country came from impermissible sources and that Mr Banks and Ms Bilney, the responsible person for Leave.EU, knowingly concealed the true circumstances under which this money was provided.

“This is significant because at least £2.9m of this money was used to fund referendum spending and donations during the regulated period of the EU referendum.”

He added: “Our investigation has unveiled evidence that suggests criminal offences have been committed which fall beyond the remit of the commission. This is why we have handed our evidence to the NCA to allow them to investigate and take any appropriate law enforcement action. This is now a criminal investigation.

“The financial transactions we have investigated include companies incorporated in Gibraltar and the Isle of Man. These jurisdictions are beyond the reach of the Electoral Commission for the purpose of obtaining information for use in criminal investigations or proceedings.”

Responding to the allegations, Mr Banks said: “I am pleased that the Electoral Commission has referred me to the National Crime Agency.

“I am confident that a full and frank investigation will finally put an end to the ludicrous allegations levelled against me and my colleagues.

“There is no evidence of any wrongdoing from the companies I own. I am a UK taxpayer and I have never received any foreign donations. The Electoral Commission has produced no evidence to the contrary.”

He claimed the probe was a result of the watchdog facing “intense political pressure from anti-Brexit supporters”.

Ms Bilney also accused the Commission of having a “biased approach”.

She told BBC Radio 4’s World At One: “I hope that the matter will be shortly concluded to demonstrate that no crimes have been committed.

“They are looking at it how they want to through their own biased lens.”

She denied Leave.EU had received money from Russia, saying: “I run the group of companies where the money was from and we don’t have any transactions that are from Russia.

“I am completely comfortable that we have done everything above board.”

Leave.EU has already been fined £70,000 by the Electoral Commission over spending irregularities during the referendum.

The penalty related to the group overspending its legal limit by at least 10 per cent and submitting incomplete and inaccurate spending returns.

Responding to news of the latest NCA inquiry, Tory MP Damian Collins, who chairs the Commons digital, culture, media and sport committee, said MPs had previous raised concerns over the conduct of Mr Banks.

He said: “In particular, the DCMS committee stated in paragraph 191 of our report that, ‘Arron Banks is believed to have donated £8.4m to the Leave campaign, the largest political donation in British politics, but it is unclear from where he obtained that amount of money. He failed to satisfy us that his own donations had, in fact, come from sources within the UK.

“‘At the same time, we have evidence of Mr. Banks’ discussions with Russian embassy contacts, including the Russian ambassador, over potential gold and diamond deals, and the passing of confidential information by Mr Banks.

“‘The Electoral Commission should pursue investigations into donations that Arron Banks made to the Leave campaign, to verify that the money was not sourced from abroad. Should there be any doubt, the matter should be referred to the NCA’.”