Boris Johnson, the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, recently received £1 million (approximately $1.2 million) worth of donations from Christopher Harborne, a Thailand-based crypto investor. The donation was received through the office of Boris Johnson Ltd., a private limited firm created to support Johnson’s work as a former Prime Minister.
According to a register of MPs’ interest released earlier this month, a gift from Mr Harborne came in towards the end of November 2022. This comes just two months after Mr Johnson was forced by other members of parliament (MP) to resign from his office as UK Prime Minister.
Notably, the donation is now the largest an MP will receive, sidelining Michael Gove’s £150,000 (worth $183,150) donation in 2009.
Aside from the donation from Mr Harborne, Mr Johnson later received funds from two speeches he gave in December. On December 13, he received £253,880 (approximately $309,969) for giving a speech at a blockchain conference. The conference was hosted by the blockchain project ParallelChain Lab in Singapore.
There has been speculation that the fund will aid the former UK Prime Minister should he decide to pursue his future political ambitions.
Individuals close to the former UK MP believe the donations received are not for his gain.
"It is not his money and he doesn't have access to it," a source close to Mr Johnson said.
Another source added that the accumulated donations being held at the Office of Boris Johnson Ltd. are not part of “a comeback plan” by Mr Johnson about his political goals.
UK Government Embraces Cryptocurrencies
News of former PM Mr Johnson receiving a substantial donation from a cryptocurrency investor comes as the UK government moves to embrace the nascent asset class. In a recent report, the UK government revealed its plan to launch a digital pound.
Andrew Griffith, the economic secretary to the Treasury, unravelled the concept. He further reiterated that the move is part of the UK government’s moves toward making the region a crypto hub.
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