Nigel Farage has been fielding questions about the millions he's received from billionaire Christopher Harborne, and he's been quite open about his enthusiasm for cryptocurrency - the industry that made part of Harborne's fortune. The Reform UK leader even suggested the Bank of England governor drop a crypto policy that might cost Harborne money. But there's another, potentially more consequential side to Harborne's business empire: his deep entanglement with the military. It's a first for a major UK donor, and it raises some awkward questions.
Our ongoing investigation into Harborne's riches and whether his donations shape Farage's agenda has uncovered a global web of commercial interests in arms and military contracts. Harborne's collaborators include a striking number of former army officers, air force pilots, military officials, and possibly even spies. Described by his lawyers as 'intensely private,' Harborne's military side contrasts with his wellness sanctuary on a Thai paradise island.
A business partner in Harborne's jet fuel venture calls it a top supplier to US military operations worldwide, 'strengthened by former US Department of Defense specialists and retired US military pilots.' Harborne is also the biggest shareholder in what was once the UK military's research arm, now a private company developing autonomous weapons.
With political leaders debating how much state resources to divert to military spending, Farage's reliance on Harborne's money presents a potential conflict of interest. Harborne has given Reform two-thirds of its funding, plus a £5m undeclared gift that the MPs' watchdog is investigating. Sam Power, a political funding expert at the University of Bristol, says it doesn't necessarily follow that Reform will align with Harborne's military interests, but it 'warrants a spotlight.'
Harborne's lawyers at Schillings insist his commercial interests are 'unconnected in any way whatsoever' to his political affiliations. After private school, Cambridge, stints at McKinsey and PepsiCo, Harborne moved to Thailand in the 1990s, made money in markets, and set up on his own. In 2006, he loaned £1.6m to Subsea Resources, a deep-sea salvage company, and later exchanged the loans for shares, becoming a director. His fellow director, David Charters, was described as a 'Foreign Office veteran' - often a euphemism for MI6 officers. Another replacement was Tim McClement, a retired Royal Navy vice-admiral who sank the Belgrano during the Falklands war.
Harborne was also setting up AML Global, which became a major military contractor. Its early directors had military backgrounds, including Arthur Napolitano, a Sandhurst-trained officer who served in the Sultan of Oman's land forces. AML Global brokers jet fuel, and its lawyers say it maintains over 1,200 locations worldwide. At first, clients were civilians, but soon AML Global started supplying the American military. Its vice-president, Scott Elder, is a retired US air force colonel who previously worked at the US embassy in Bangkok. By 2013, AML Global received its first Pentagon contracts, starting small but booming to over $140m in total by the years since, according to US government data.
AML Global's Northern Irish partner, Jet Assist, boasts that no other company supplies the US military with jet fuel in more places beyond its borders - 62 by the end of 2025. This includes strategic locations from Europe's frontier with Russia to the Middle East and Asian allies. Jerry McGinn, a military procurement expert, notes the US government vets these companies seriously. While bankers filed a suspicious activity report in 2014 about large payments Harborne made, that's evidence of concern, not wrongdoing, and the Pentagon evidently sees him as trusted.
In the UK, Harborne occupies an even more sensitive position. In 2022, while solidifying his political influence, he started building a stake in QinetiQ, the privatised former MoD research arm. QinetiQ runs Hebridean missile-launch sites, develops stealth for nuclear submarines, maintains RAF Typhoon jets, and builds drones and robots. Harborne is now its biggest shareholder, with a 15% stake worth about £400m. He's also invested in 'Iron Man' suits for combatants and a rival to Starlink.
Harborne's military connections extend to Thailand, where he took citizenship in 2011. Paul Chambers, an expert on the Thai military, says Harborne maintains a business relationship with the armed forces there through AML Global and Sherriff Global Group, which runs his private jet fleet. Neither Harborne's lawyers nor the Thai air force answered questions about this.
Harborne has also intervened personally in military questions. Last year, the Guardian revealed he accompanied Boris Johnson on a September 2023 visit to Ukraine after giving the former PM £1m. Harborne told the Telegraph that Johnson arranged for him to meet Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and he told the Ukrainian president: 'I'm absolutely passionate that Europe has to defend itself.'
By June 2024, when Reform launched its election manifesto, Harborne had given Farage a £5m gift. Both insist it was 'unconditional,' and Farage decided not to declare it. The manifesto committed Reform to increasing defence spending, introducing tax breaks for the defence industry, and setting up a 'Joint Acquisition Corp' - policies that seem likely to benefit QinetiQ and other Harborne interests.
Farage says Harborne asks for nothing in exchange. Yet just as he's championed Tether, the crypto firm Harborne part-owns, he's saluted his benefactor's military interests. On the Triggernometry podcast, Farage said: 'Christopher Harborne is an immensely successful man... I think there are some things that are known in public, such as his big stake that he holds in QinetiQ... I think he probably owns the biggest jet refuelling operation in the world, plus his crypto investments.' And Farage has struck militaristic positions, urging Keir Starmer to join Trump's bombing of Iran and expressing disquiet about plans to give Mauritius control of the Chagos Islands.