Jailed ex-Reform leader in Wales ordered to pay more than £22k

The former leader of Reform UK in Wales, who was jailed last year for accepting pro-Russian bribes, has been ordered to pay more than £22,500.

Nathan Gill, 53, an ex-Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Wales, has been serving a ten-and-a-half year sentence since November.

His punishment came after he took money from Ukrainian politician Oleh Voloshyn in exchange for making pro-Russia statements in both the European Parliament and in opinion pieces for the now-defunct pro-Russia 112 Ukraine television channel.

Voloshyn was sanctioned by the UK Government in March 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In total, Gill took around £40,000 in exchange for tabling motions, delivering speeches, and enabling media access for individuals linked to pro-Russian interests.

He was stopped at Manchester Airport in September 2021 following an investigation by British counter-terrorism police.

At the Old Bailey in London on Thursday September 3, Gill was given six months to sell a rental property he owns, and pay £22,592.41 to the UK Government – or face a further nine months behind bars.

Gill was not present at the hearing.

Who is Nathan Gill?

Gill represented Wales in the European Parliament between 2014 and 2020, and campaigned for the UK to leave the European Union during the 2016 referendum.

He was previously a member of UKIP, and led the party in Wales between 2014 and 2016.

He also represented North Wales as a regional member of the then-National Assembly for Wales between 2016 and 2017.

In 2019, he left UKIP to join Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party (now Reform UK). In the general election that same year, he stood for the party in the Caerphilly constituency, where he finished fourth with 11.2% of the vote.

He became Reform’s leader in Wales ahead of the 2021 Senedd Elections.

However, Reform UK has said Gill is no longer a member of the party.