Betting account in George Cottrell’s name received $9 million in crypto from unidentified sources

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Mr Cottrell is a British aristocratic banker and convicted fraudster who has been embroiled in an investigation into donations given to Reform UK.

In October 2024, the Polymarket account “GCottrell93” received about $8.8 million from two separate wallets, and the funds were then used to bet on Donald Trump winning the US presidential election, the Financial Time has reported.

Shortly after the election result, which generated $4.46 million in profit, almost all of the money in the account was emptied into two different wallets.

It is unclear who provided the money used by the account and who ultimately received the winnings.

Read more: George Cottrell ‘had access to Farage emails and covered Reform costs without disclosure to Electoral Commission’

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Long-term ally Mr Cottrell reportedly recruited and paid three staff to work on Mr Farage’s social media before the general election, and has continued to allow him to use a five-storey Georgian property he rented near Buckingham Palace.

The flows of betting money raise questions about the source of the 32-year-old’s finances and whether money from different individuals has been used to fund his gifts, donations or benefits in kind for Mr Farage.

According to the Financial Times, Cottrell declined to answer questions about the beneficial owner of the Polymarket wallet, whether any third party had an economic interest in the bets or winnings, and whether any of the money was used directly or indirectly to fund travel, staff, security, accommodation, loans, gifts or other support for Mr Farage or Reform.

His lawyers said he would not comment on his financial affairs or on specific transactions, and that this did not mean he accepted the FT’s assertions.

LBC has contacted Mr Cottrell's lawyers for comment.

Both Mr Farage and Reform are under mounting pressure over other reports about their finances.

Mr Farage faces questions about undeclared support provided by long-standing ally Mr Cottrell, following a Sunday Times investigation, while the Guardian suggested earlier this month that bankers had raised concerns to the National Crime Agency (NCA) through suspicious activity reports about at least four transactions involving senior Reform leaders.

These include the £5 million gift to Mr Farage and a £1 million donation from Mr Cottrell’s mother, Fiona, to Britain Means Business, described as a fundraising vehicle for Reform which deputy leader Richard Tice is a director of.

Mr Tice accused the NCA of leaking his and Mr Farage’s private information.

Mr Cottrell has also called for an investigation into a suspected leak of his information by the NCA.

He said he was concerned he may have been the victim of an “unauthorised disclosure” after details of his financial activity were obtained by the press.

He urged the authority to check whether any confidential information derived from its records could have been leaked to the media.