Nathan Gill, the 52-year-old former leader of Reform UK in Wales and ex-Member of the European Parliament, was sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison at the Old Bailey on Friday for accepting bribes to promote pro-Russian interests.
The court heard that between late 2018 and mid-2019, Gill received up to £40,000 from Ukrainian politician Oleg Voloshyn, described by US authorities as a Russian intelligence asset linked to Vladimir Putin and oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk.
Gill pleaded guilty to eight counts of bribery for delivering scripted statements in the European Parliament, appearing on pro-Russian Ukrainian television channels, and recruiting other MEPs to support Medvedchuk-linked media outlets facing closure.
Voloshyn provided Gill with talking points to defend channels 112 Ukraine and NewsOne, both later taken off air in 2021, and to back Medvedchuk, who faced treason charges in Ukraine.
Gill hosted Medvedchuk in Strasbourg to promote a Donbas “peace plan” praised by Putin on Russian television the next day.
Messages recovered by police showed Voloshyn using coded language for payments, including promises of cash deliveries and references to “Xmas gifts” and “postcards.”
In one exchange, Voloshyn offered $13,000 and €4,000; police later found €5,000 and $5,000 at Gill’s home in Anglesey.
The Metropolitan Police, assisted by the FBI, began investigating after discovering incriminating messages on Voloshyn’s phone in 2021.
Gill was detained at Manchester Airport in September 2021 under counter-terrorism powers while attempting to fly to Russia.
Commander Dominic Murphy, head of counter-terrorism policing, called Gill an “extraordinarily willing participant” whose actions posed a threat to national security and formed part of broader Russian influence operations in Europe.
Reform UK condemned Gill’s conduct as “reprehensible, treasonous and unforgivable,” stating Nigel Farage had no knowledge of the activities.
Opposition parties called for wider probes into potential Russian infiltration of British politics.