October 4, 2021 – Responding to allegations that a prominent Conservative Party donor was involved in one of Europe’s biggest corruption scandals, Daniel Bruce, Chief Executive at Transparency International UK said:  

“These allegations add further weight to the case to reform regulation of political donations in the UK. There is a clear and growing consensus that the current rules controlling the money in British politics are out-of-date and in need of urgent reform.

“Political parties’ due diligence on major donations should go beyond the box-ticking exercise of simply finding the donor on the electoral roll. The rules already prevent parties from accepting the proven proceeds of crime or corruption, but donations that raise red flags should also be rejected out of principle. As well as introducing a cap on the amount an individual can give, political parties should carefully consider whether their donors adhere to the same values the party claims to hold.”