Calls are intensifying for the UK government to ban political donations made in cryptocurrency, with Labour MP Rushanara Ali warning they expose British democracy to foreign interference.
Ali, a former minister involved in the government’s elections bill, urged ministers to block what she described as the use of digital assets to funnel money into domestic politics.
Ali said crypto donations are a vehicle for “foreign interference in our democracy,” and called for an outright prohibition on their use in political funding.
She argued that multiple wallets, fragmented crowdfunding contributions and privacy coins could enable donors to circumvent reporting thresholds and obscure the true source of funds.
“Cryptocurrency donations carry huge risks of dirty money and foreign interference, but the Electoral Commission does not currently have the necessary powers to properly regulate these risks,”
Said Spotlight on Corruption executive director Susan Hawley, adding that other jurisdictions including Ireland and Brazil have already imposed bans without major disruption.