Farage Builds War Chest as he Hobnobs With the Tycoons of Dubai

Nigel Farage has not declared the sources of funding for any of the lavish hospitality he received during a two-day trip to Dubai to drum up donations from wealthy tax-exile expats and rub up against rich Emiratis.

But we can share new details of the trip, where he was hosted by billionaires who count the Tate brothers among guests.

Farage is considered favourite to be Prime Minister after the next election, after Reform UK celebrated unprecedented electoral success earlier this month, winning throughout Labour's heartlands.

The party is building a war chest ahead of the general election due by the summer of 2029. Last year it registered more donations than any other party and at the start of this year it focused on Dubai.

One of the United Arab Emirates, Dubai does not have the largest population of British expats in the world – but it is likely to have the wealthiest.

Farage was accompanied on his trip in January by party treasurer Nick Candy, who has business interests in Dubai, and Tory defector Nadhim Zahawi, who has property and extensive connections there.

Farage told wealthy donors at a private lunch that "Britain is broken" but that he wanted to lure them back. According to reports, he said: "What I've noticed is that nearly all of London now lives in Dubai. They fled for a variety of reasons, and one of the reasons is a bloke called Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London. It is a complete disaster. Law and order is collapsing, we're taxing everybody out of the country.

"When we're in government, some of the Brits will come back to London. At least I hope some of you might come back to London for some of the year."

Bloomberg reported that the lunch was funded by Indian tycoon Sunny Varkey, an education entrepreneur based in Dubai. Varkey owns 17 fee-paying schools in England through his £57million-a-year Bellevue Education Group.

Labour imposed 20% VAT on private school fees last year, in opposition to Reform UK, which went into the last election promising an additional 20% tax break for private schools.

One guest posted that the "immaculately arranged luncheon to welcome the team to the UAE" was arranged by Reform's deputy treasurer Amanda Gutkin, who also has business connections in the UAE.

Later that day, Farage was the guest of honour at a "special evening invitation hosted by the Binghatti Family", according to the same guest.

The Binghattis are one of Dubai's wealthiest property developers. Hussain Binghatti Aljbori is ranked by Forbes as one of the richest men in the Middle East, with a $2.5billion (£1.8bn) fortune.

A video posted online last year shows members of the Binghatti family hosting influencer and self-confessed misogynist Andrew Tate and his brother Tristram. Tristram Tate claims to own an apartment in one of many luxury towers built by the Binghattis. Andrew Tate is facing criminal and civil cases in the UK, US and Romania over allegations including rape and sexual assault, which he denies.

A spokesperson for the Binghattis did not respond to a request for comment.

Among guests who posed with Farage was Italian tango dancer turned PR fixer Paolina Antognetti. Her clients include Reform UK donors, United Kingdom Sotheby's International Realty Limited which is a separate company to Sotheby's auction house, with different ownership.

Her business dealings take her from London, where she met Reform UK treasurer Nick Candy in March, to Moscow, from where she posted a photo last month, saying she was "exploring new markets".

During a trip to Russia last year she posed with sanctioned Russian politician Leonid Slutsky and thanked him for "your generous hospitality and an incredible week filled with valuable opportunities".

Sanctioned

Hard-right Slutsky, a staunch defender of Putin's war on Ukraine, was sanctioned by the US, Canada and the EU following Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014.

Antognetti did not respond to our requests for comment.

The next evening, Farage spoke at an exclusive GB News event on the rooftop of the Ritz-Carlton hotel, joined by Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, the UAE industry minister.

According to Middle East Eye, Farage told around 80 guests: "Look around at the palms, I want Clacton to look like this."

He reportedly told the Emiratis: "We have a lot to learn from you, my dear sirs. We recognise you are our friends. A Brexit London, a Reform London, will remember you."

Lib Dem MP Lisa Smart said: "Nigel Farage has already faced serious questions over an undeclared £5m gift from a crypto tycoon. Now it seems Reform UK is rinsing Dubai donors to fill its coffers too.

"It is the height of hypocrisy for a party that claims to be 'anti-establishment' to be bankrolled by bitcoin billionaires."

Several of Farage's Reform lieutenants have ties to Dubai. They include deputy leader Richard Tice, who splits his time between his Boston and Skegness constituency, London and Dubai, where his partner, journalist Isabel Oakeshott, moved in 2024 to avoid paying VAT on private school fees.

She has written about Dubai's "booming economy" and "culture of respect" and Tice agrees, arguing that standing for the anthem in schools "educates children about being proud of the country."

He added: "No one's saying everything's perfect about it [but] our basic British values at the moment are not working."

Amnesty International reports that "political opponents and activists faced enforced disappearance and arbitrary detention" in the UAE. It also highlights the "kafala" sponsorship system which "binds migrant workers to employers, restricting job mobility and exposing them to systemic abuse, including wage theft, excessive working hours and crippling debt from recruitment fees".

The US State Department's latest report on the UAE lists "significant human rights issues" including disappearances, arbitrary detention and prohibiting trade unions. It noted "the government did not take credible steps to identify and punish human rights abuses".

It was Farage's second trip to the Emirates in two months. In December, the UAE paid £10,000 for him and a guest to travel there, meeting senior officials. Farage did not respond as to why he had not declared who paid for his return visit.