NCA finds 'no evidence' of crimes by Leave.EU and Arron Banks
The National Crime Agency (NCA) has found “no evidence” that criminal offences were committed by the pro-Brexit campaign group Leave.EU or its founder Arron Banks following a year-long investigation.
The NCA inquiry began after the group was fined £70,000 by the Electoral Commission in May last year for exceeding the spending limit for “non-party registered campaigners” by at least ten per cent after failing to include at least £77,380 in its return.
The commission referred the group’s chief executive, Elizabeth Bilney, to the police after finding she had committed four offences, including submitting an inaccurate spending return and exceeding the spending limit.
In November 2018, Mr Banks was also referred to the NCA by the Electoral Commission for “suspected criminal offences committed during the EU referendum”. At the time, the Electoral Commission said that it had reasonable grounds to suspect Mr Banks was not the “true source” of the funds.
Mr Banks, a millionaire who made his fortune in the insurance industry, contributed £8 million to the Leave.EU campaign and its parent organisation, Better for the Country.
Mr Banks said he now intends to take legal action against the Electoral Commission.
In statement, the NCA said it not received any evidence to suggest that Mr Banks and his companies received funding from any third party to fund the loans, or that he acted as an agent on behalf of a third party, adding: “It will therefore take no further action against Mr Banks, Ms Bilney, Better for the Country Ltd or Leave.EU in respect of this specific matter.”
Earlier this month, a criminal investigation into Leave.EU was also dropped by the Metropolitan Police Service as there was “insufficient evidence” to justify any further inquiry.
