orUr party financial rules are compiled by loopholes. Shell companies. Unincorkated association. Unknown donations operate through digital campaigns between elections. All legal. All ripe for abuse. And now, a new gate opens: cryptocurrency.
If a person purchases a cryptocurrency their identity is not introduced, but the transaction itself is recorded in the blockchain and appear in the public. As long as we know That anonymity introduces allows crypocurrencies to be used to fund all from the penalties to avoid election interference. art New Report from Center for information on information It is revealed that A7A5, a new “digital ruble”, has been linked to the ensuancies of the movements of the Russians. Report Iolan Shor also learned, a fugitive oligarch accused of being linked to the elections sponsored by the Moldovan lake of thousands of Moldovans in their votes.
In Britain, UK reform declares that it plans to Receive Crypto donations.
This is the new campaign financing field. Cryptocurrencies give many ways of hiding, quitting gathering political parties and what they wanted in return. Online “Mixer” May mix an individual cryptococcurrency with others, which may impossible to track the beginning of individual coins. People can also donate using many crypto witles with different addresses, dividing several donations into small amounts of political values.
This is a customs system built for enemy actors and open to abuse, especially with foreign currency in the banks of the bank of the UK political banks. And Russia is ready to move. It spent about £ 230m Move to demokies to at least 24 countries since 2014.
This week, the ministers table a mini white paper That will prepare the land for a new election bill. It consists of some good ideas. Introduce the government the more “know your donor rules”. But it is impossible to know your donor when they give money to Crypto. The better solution is to ban crypto donations directly (Ireland and Brazil has already been). The government should also prohibit unattached, unbearable and unlimited companies or associations – unnecessary to file accounts – from donating cash. The shadow group known as “uncincorpateated Associations” Channeled More than £ 60m To British politics over the past two decades, but it is not necessary to file accounts or explain where their money is.
It is very easy to acquire money abroad and route it to a UK citizen’s bank account, where it comes from a political party. It makes many weaknesses. In 2022, the Reported to New York Times The worries that have been transferred to money from a Russian bank account in a UK citizen’s bank account may lead to conservative party coffers. Ehud Sheeg, the UK citizen, saying that his party donation was not considering a gift from his mother-in-law not found to investigate the donation.
When I told this in the National Crime Agency, I was told innocent because in the end a UK citizen wrote the check. No evidence Seeleg does anything wrong. But this mechanism can take advantage of bad actors. For the reason, income or income earned in the UK should be allowed to fund political parties.
The National Crime Agency and Electoral Commission require additional resources If they examine these problems effectively. And they need to give a lot of fine. Labor promised the manifesto to strengthen the rules of political donations. The Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, worked with an explanation of dirty money imposing politics in the world – and shut down the favorite in London. Ministers woke up to the threat of black money, and a new election bill is good news for those who want to clean the politics. But if we close the holes. Believe me, the Kremlin looked.
