A total of £8m in funding was provided to BFTC and Leave.EU to be available for paying expenses incurred by one or other of them in the EU Referendum. This included £6m provided to Leave.EU (paid on its behalf to BFTC to use for Leave.EU’s referendum spending), and £2m provided to BFTC.

BFTC used this money to spend at least £2.9m in the regulated campaign period for the 2016 EU Referendum, either by making donations to other campaigners, or by other spending.

Leave.EU told us that Arron Banks was the only other party to the £6m loans, and that the moneys were loans from him. BFTC told us it was funded by Mr Banks and his group of insurance companies and that Mr Banks was the source for the other £2m.

Following an investigation we launched on 1 November 2017, we have reasonable grounds to suspect that:

Mr Banks was not the true source of the £8m reported as loans

The parties to the financial transactions that led to the £8m being paid into BFTC’s bank account included a non-qualifying or impermissible company, Rock Holding Limited, which was incorporated in the Isle of Man

Leave.EU, Elizabeth Bilney (the responsible person for Leave.EU), BFTC, Mr Banks, and possibly others, concealed the true details of these financial transactions, including from us, and also did so by knowingly making statutory returns/reports which were incomplete and inaccurate, or false

Various criminal offences may have been committed

We have referred this matter to the NCA, for it to take forward. We will liaise with the NCA to provide whatever assistance it may require.

This report outlines the basis our referral to the NCA. As this is now a criminal investigation, only limited information can, at this stage, be made public about the evidence we hold, our analysis and the potential offences that may have been committed.