SerpApi.Org
An aristocratic financier accused of secretly bankrolling Nigel Farage has called for an investigation into a suspected leak of his banking records by the National Crime Agency (NCA).
George Cottrell, a close ally of the Reform UK leader, 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.
In a direct challenge to the NCA, the 33-year-old urged the authority to check whether any confidential information derived from its records could have been leaked to the media.
It comes two weeks after Richard Tice, the party’s deputy leader, wrote to the head of the NCA demanding an investigation into the disclosure of a loan his company received from Cottrell two years ago.
At the time the letter was sent, Cottrell, the grandson of a baron, was at the centre of a separate media storm about financial assistance he gave to Mr Farage in the run up to the last general election.
The Reform leader was accused of failing to declare the vast majority of the support he received from Cottrell in the 12 months before he became an MP, raising the prospect of a parliamentary investigation.
The details were disclosed in The Sunday Times on July 5. Reform UK denied Mr Farage had breached parliamentary rules, calling the report “baseless and contrived”.
Mr Tice wrote to the NCA after another newspaper obtained details of a loan his company had received from Cottrell in 2024.
Cottrell, who was convicted of wire fraud in the United States in 2017, gave Tisun Investments, Mr Tice’s property firm, a bridging loan of £80,000 in December 2024, which was repaid in February 2025.
Britain Means Business, Mr Tice’s think tank, also received a £1m donation from Cottrell’s mother, Fiona, in June 2024. Half of it was given to Reform by Mr Tice and declared to the Electoral Commission.
The transactions in question were flagged to the NCA under its suspicious activity report (SAR) scheme, which requires banks to highlight large transactions, particularly international ones, under anti-money laundering legislation.
Mr Tice was not aware that any of the transactions had been flagged to the NCA until he was contacted by The Guardian.
Not only did the newspaper know the private transactions had made their way to the NCA, but it also had details of multiple transactions from different bank accounts, which Mr Tice believes could only have been known to him and the agency.
Mr Tice wrote to Graeme Biggar, the director general of the NCA, demanding an investigation earlier this month.
In his own letter to Mr Biggar on Wednesday, Cottrell said: “I am concerned that there may have been an unauthorised disclosure of information derived from Suspicious Activity Reports, or other confidential financial intelligence held by the National Crime Agency or shared within the UK anti-money laundering regime.”
The letter, first published by the Guido Fawkes political blog, referred to “recent reporting by The Guardian and The Sunday Times” containing “detailed information” about his banking activity.
“The nature and specificity of the information reported appear to resemble material that would ordinarily be expected to remain confidential within the UK’s financial intelligence framework,” Cottrell said.
Call for ‘urgent assessment’
“While I am not in a position to know the source of this information, its publication gives rise to legitimate concerns that confidential information may have been disclosed without authorisation.
“If there has been any compromise of SAR information or related intelligence, the implications extend beyond the individuals concerned.
“Such a breach could undermine confidence in the integrity of the UK’s anti-money laundering framework, damage trust among domestic reporting entities and international partners, and potentially weaken the UK’s reputation as a secure custodian of sensitive financial intelligence.
“In light of these concerns, I respectfully request that the National Crime Agency undertake an urgent assessment of whether there has been any unauthorised disclosure of SAR-related information or associated confidential intelligence connected to these matters.
“If appropriate, I would be grateful if a formal investigation could be commenced into how such information may have entered the public domain,” he added.
The National Crime Agency was contacted for comment.
In response to Mr Tice’s complaint earlier this month, a spokesman for the NCA said: “The NCA does not confirm or deny the receipt of SARs, nor comment on how any SAR is used.
“SARs are confidential and breaching that confidentiality risks committing a tipping-off offence under the Proceeds of Crime Act.”
