Defence Secretary Wes Streeting received thousands of pounds worth of donations from a firm whose founder received a monetary gift from one of the world’s most notorious fraudsters, it has been revealed.
Mr Streeting, who briefly sought to succeed Sir Keir Starmer as Labour Party leader and Prime Minister, received £37,500 in donations from Labour for the Long Term (LLT) over 2022 and 2023.
Senior figures in the party are reported to have raised concerns over the source of LLT’s funds, though there is no suggestion these concerns were communicated to Mr Streeting.
David Lawrence, who founded LLT in 2022, accepted around £500,000 from disgraced American financier Sam Bankman-Fried just one month before the think tank made its first donation.
Bankman-Fried, a longstanding Democrat supporter, was subsequently sentenced to 25 years in jail after being convicted of stealing billions of dollars from his customers.
Mr Lawrence stood down as Labour’s parliamentary candidate in Basingstoke after being questioned about his relationship with Bankman-Fried.
He went on to dispute claims that high-profile figures within the party had been advised not to accept his donations.
Mr Lawrence has denied that Bankman-Fried’s gift was used to fund LLT’s political donations.
He told The Telegraph: “I unreservedly condemn Bankman-Fried’s actions and had no knowledge or suspicion of any criminal activity until it was reported in the news.”
The Telegraph has also disclosed that Labour never raised any suspicions about the source of Mr Streeting’s funding with the Electoral Commission.
However, Mr Lawrence claimed LLT’s donation to Mr Streeting was bankrolled by another donor.
He insisted: “LLT had a range of donors (all UK-based) and declarations were made in accordance with Electoral Commission requirements.
“LLT did not receive any donations from the FTX Foundation or Mr Bankman-Fried.”
There is no suggestion Mr Streeting was aware of the source for the donation from LLT when he accepted the funds.
A spokesman for Mr Streeting told The Telegraph: “None of this due diligence gave any indication that the money came from anywhere other than the declared sources.”
“Wes has had no contact with this individual and he was never mentioned in any discussions with LLT.”
“All donations were and are declared in the proper way, in accordance with the rules.”
Mr Streeting requested a list of LLT’s donors before accepting its donations.
Mr Lawrence’s name appeared on that list, but Bankman-Fried’s did not.
However, concerns about Mr Streeting’s donations have emerged at a time when politicians face greater scrutiny about their financial connections.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage triggered a by-election in Clacton after facing fury for accepting a £5million gift from the Thai-based cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne.
He was also reported to have received financial support from George Cottrell, a long-time confidante who was convicted of fraud in the US in 2017.
Mr Streeting responded to revelations about Mr Farage by claiming the Reform UK leader was “up to his neck [in it]”.
While the Reform UK leader denies any wrongdoing, Labour is now looking to implement a £100,000 cap on donations from British citizens who live abroad.
Despite MPs being unable to accept money coming from overseas citizens, a loophole allows unincorporated associations such as think tanks to accept money without having to make the source public.
The Electoral Commission has called for the loophole to be closed, and Labour is planning to introduce stricter rules.
Bankman-Fried, who used stolen funds to make more than £74million of campaign contributions ahead of the 2022 Midterm Elections, is accused of using pseudonyms to get around spending laws.
A Labour Party spokesman said: “The Labour Party carried out due diligence checks ahead of these donations being received, through which no issues were identified.”