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International Money Flows

International Money Flows

United States

The Big Pipeline

The US Christian right / nationalist movement has been systematically funding UK activity for years. This is the most documented foreign funding vector.

Key US Funders

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF)

  • Type: 501(c)(3) religious liberty legal group
  • HQ: Scottsdale, Arizona
  • IRS filings: Search Form 990 — shows grants to UK entities
  • Known UK activity: Funding legal cases, supporting anti-trans legislation, supporting "free speech" defences of far-right figures
  • Key question: Which UK individuals/orgs have received ADF grants?
  • 990 search: https://www.propublica.org/nonprofits (ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer)

Family Research Council (FRC)

  • Type: 501(c)(3)
  • HQ: Washington DC
  • Why: Anti-LGBT, anti-abortion. UK conference appearances, partnerships.

Heritage Foundation

  • Type: 501(c)(3) think tank
  • Why: Major US conservative think tank. UK policy influence, speaker exchanges.
  • Check: Mandate for Leadership (Project 2025) — UK connections?

Turning Point USA (TPUSA)

  • Type: 501(c)(3) / 501(c)(4)
  • Founder: Charlie Kirk
  • UK arm: Turning Point UK (TPUK)
  • Key question: How much does TPUSA grant to TPUK annually? Form 990 should show foreign grants.
  • Reporting: openDemocracy has investigated this

Acton Institute

  • Type: 501(c)(3) free-market/religious
  • Why: UK branch exists. How much funding flows?

Claremont Institute

  • Type: 501(c)(3)
  • Why: Post-liberal intellectual movement. UK fellows, conference attendees.
  • Key figure: John Marini, Gladden Pappin
  • UK connections: Post-liberal Conservatism (Hazelwood, etc.)

Liberty Council

  • Type: 501(c)(3) legal
  • Why: Mat Staver. UK legal defence?

National Christian Foundation (NCF)

  • Type: Donor-advised fund
  • Why: Major pass-through for anonymous donations to religious/right causes. Check grant recipients.

Donors Trust / Donors Capital Fund

  • Type: Donor-advised funds (right-wing)
  • Why: Anonymous dark money. Some grants go to UK-adjacent orgs.

US Political Figures with UK Connections

  • Donald Trump: Turnberry golf course (Scotland), political statements on UK affairs
  • Steve Bannon: Brexit support, UK far-right contacts, "The Movement" EU populist network
  • Charlie Kirk: Direct involvement with TPUK, UK visits
  • Matt Schlapp / CPAC: CPAC Hungary, CPAC Brazil — UK attendees?

How to Trace US Money

  1. ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer: https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/
    • Search org name, view 990s, find "grants and allocations" section
    • Foreign grants must be listed (country + amount + purpose)
  2. IRS Tax Exempt Search: https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/
  3. Foundation Center (Candid): https://candid.org/ (paid, comprehensive)
  4. FEC: For political donations by US individuals to UK-connected causes

Russia

Pre-2022 Context

Before the Ukraine invasion, Russian state-aligned money flowed more openly.

RT (Russia Today)

  • Status: Banned in UK/EU since March 2022
  • Known payments: Tommy Robinson appeared on RT and was reportedly paid
  • Question: Who else received RT payments? Other UK commentators?
  • Evidence: Ofcom investigations, self-reports, journalism

Sputnik

  • Status: Banned
  • UK activity: Limited, but some UK figures appeared as commentators

Russian Foundations

  • Gorchakov Foundation: Russian soft power
  • Russkiy Mir Foundation: Russian cultural/diaspora
  • Status: Most wound down UK operations post-2022

Post-2022

  • Direct Russian state funding largely dried up due to sanctions
  • BUT: Russian-aligned narratives continue via:
    • Crypto donations (harder to trace)
    • Proxy funders in non-sanctioning jurisdictions
    • Amplification of existing UK far-right content (no direct funding needed)

Key Investigation

  • Arron Banks / Leave.EU: Multiple documented meetings with Russian embassy officials. Electoral Commission investigation. Was there financial benefit?
  • Source: openDemocracy investigation, Channel 4 Dispatches, Electoral Commission report

Sanctions Lists to Check

  • UK Sanctions List: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-uk-sanctions-list
  • OFAC (US): https://sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov/
  • EU Consolidated List

Gulf States

UAE / Dubai

  • Legatum Group: Based in Dubai, major GB News investor. Christopher Chandler (NZ national, Dubai-based).
  • Question: Is this Gulf money or just Dubai-based international capital?
  • Check: Legatum's other investments, political affiliations

Saudi Arabia

  • Why: Saudi lobbying in UK, some overlap with anti-Muslim narratives (Saudi vs Muslim Brotherhood)
  • Less direct far-right funding: More establishment lobbying, but worth checking overlap

Qatar

  • Context: Different axis. Qatar-funded groups tend to be Muslim Brotherhood adjacent, which the far-right opposes.
  • Relevance: Far-right groups sometimes receive funding from Qatar's regional rivals as a result.

European Populist Networks

ID Party (Identity and Democracy) — EU Parliament

  • Members: Rassemblement National (France), Lega (Italy), AfD (Germany), FPÖ (Austria)
  • UK connection: Post-Brexit, UK parties not members, but informal networks continue
  • Funding: EU Parliament funding for European political parties/foundations
  • Check: Annual financial reports to EU Parliament

European Political Foundations

  • ENF (now ID Foundation): Check annual reports
  • Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy (EFDD): Historical, Farage connection
  • Europe of Nations and Freedom: Historical

Bilateral Connections

  • Marine Le Pen / RN ↔ UK far-right: Conference appearances, shared events
  • AfD (Germany) ↔ UK: Joint events, especially on "anti-Islam" themes
  • Vox (Spain) ↔ UK: Growing international network
  • Viktor Orbán / Fidesz (Hungary) ↔ UK: CPAC Hungary attendance, Mathias Corvinus Collegium

Key Events (Follow the Sponsorship)

  • CPAC Hungary: Annual, UK attendees. Who sponsors travel?
  • National Conservatism Conference (NatCon): UK branches. Who sponsors?
  • ARC (Alliance for Responsible Citizenship): London-based, international attendees

Crypto & Alternative Payment

Bitcoin / Monero

  • Why: Many far-right groups post wallet addresses on Telegram
  • Method:
    1. Collect public wallet addresses from group channels
    2. Use blockchain explorers to trace transactions
    3. Look for exchange deposit addresses (can sometimes identify)
    4. Check for mixing services (monero = harder)
  • Tools:
    • Blockchain.com explorer (BTC)
    • Etherscan (ETH)
    • Chainalysis (paid, professional)
    • TRM Labs (paid)

Payment Processors

  • Stripe: Some groups use, often deplatformed
  • PayPal: Frequently banned far-right accounts
  • Crypto payment gateways: CoinGate, BTCPay Server (self-hosted, harder to track)

Merchandise as Funding

  • Print-on-demand stores (Teespring, Spreadshirt) — harder to track revenue
  • Direct merch sales via Shopify — check WHOIS for domain registration
  • Some merch operations are registered businesses

Tracking Methodology for International Flows

  1. Start with the recipient: Who in UK far-right is spending more than their visible income suggests?
  2. Work backwards: Where could that money come from?
  3. Check public records first: Electoral Commission for >£7,500 donations, Companies House for company structures
  4. US 990s: Search all relevant US orgs for "United Kingdom" in grant descriptions
  5. Cross-reference events: Who spoke at the same conferences? Who was in the same Telegram chats?
  6. Follow the narrative alignment: Groups that echo Russian/Iranian state narratives may receive indirect support
  7. Temporal analysis: Donation clusters around events (US elections, UK riots, Brexit milestones)

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