Ex-leader of Reform UK in Wales jailed for 10 years over pro-Russia bribes

The former leader of the Welsh-based Reform UK party, who accepted bribes to speak out against Russia in the European Parliament, has been given a sentence of more than 10 years in prison.

On Friday, the London’s Central Criminal Court sentenced Nathan Gill, 52, to 10 years and six months in prison.

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Gill, a former member of the European Parliament and former leader of Reform UK in Wales, admitted accepting thousands of dollars from a pro-Russian politician in Ukraine between 2018 and 2019 and making fabricated statements and appearances on television at his will.

As the sentence was handed down, Judge Bobbie Cheema-Grubb said, “You abused a position of significant authority and trust,” adding that Gill’s behavior “fundamentally compromised the integrity of a supranational legislative body.”

You orchestrated the involvement of other MEPs, Cheema-Grubb claimed, “You accepted payments from foreigners, made statements on important international issues at their behest, … … you used scripted material presented as your own”

Gill served as the UKIP party’s first elected official to the EU, which was then led by Nigel Farage, the current leader of Reform UK.

Before departing the European Parliament when the United Kingdom left the EU in the early 2020s, he later spoke for the Farage-led Brexit Party.

He was stopped at Manchester Airport in September 2021 while trying to travel to Russia, and he was charged in February of this year as a result of an investigation.

Oleg Voloshyn, a politician from Ukraine, was later found guilty of accepting bribes and charged with treason in Ukraine after Gill admitted guilt in December 2018.

According to the police, messages between Gill and Voloshyn that contained coded references to their financial dealings were discovered on Gill’s mobile phone.

Additionally, there were mentions of Dutch politicians and British politicians as well as members of other European Parliament.

Farage claims he was unaware of his former coworker’s errors because Reform UK’s party is winning several UK public opinion polls. Gill is no longer a member of the Reform movement.

Farage, who has been accused of being soft on Russia despite the world’s condemnation of its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, may find this to be a source of stress.