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)