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 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) IRS Tax Exempt Search : https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/ Foundation Center (Candid) : https://candid.org/ (paid, comprehensive) 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 : Collect public wallet addresses from group channels Use blockchain explorers to trace transactions Look for exchange deposit addresses (can sometimes identify) 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 Start with the recipient : Who in UK far-right is spending more than their visible income suggests? Work backwards : Where could that money come from? Check public records first : Electoral Commission for >£7,500 donations, Companies House for company structures US 990s : Search all relevant US orgs for "United Kingdom" in grant descriptions Cross-reference events : Who spoke at the same conferences? Who was in the same Telegram chats? Follow the narrative alignment : Groups that echo Russian/Iranian state narratives may receive indirect support Temporal analysis : Donation clusters around events (US elections, UK riots, Brexit milestones)