"Who is the convicted criminal bankrolling Nigel Farage? This man is a British aristocrat, a crypto gambler, and a convicted criminal. You might have seen him before. He was with Nigel Farage two years ago when he had a milkshake thrown at him, and on the day of the Brexit referendum in 2016. But who is he? Inside is the Sunday Times investigations team, and for the past few months, we've been investigating Nigel Farage's right-hand man, George Cottrell. Cottrell grew up in Mustique, a Caribbean island beloved by billionaires and royalty. He later attended a private boarding school from which he was expelled for gambling. By 2014, he was offering money-laundering services on the dark web. He struck a deal with drug traffickers, asking them to send $20,000, which he would launder using Bitcoin. But instead of returning the money, he demanded another 80K, threatening to report the drug traffickers to the U.S. authorities. Unfortunately for George, the traffickers he's blackmailing are the U.S. authorities, and he's been caught in an undercover sting. He was charged with 21 counts of money-laundering, fraud, blackmail, and extortion. He pleads guilty to just one charge and spent eight months in prison. So why is Farage still so close to a convicted criminal? Well, in the run-up to the 2024 general election, George started bankrolling his old friend Nigel. At the same time, George recruited Farage's staff and allowed him to stay at a five-story house near Buckingham Palace. Cottrell also paid a videographer to reinvent Farage's social media, which led him to finally win a seat in parliament. None of this was declared in an apparent breach of parliamentary rules. Cottrell's money means power, but with great power comes great responsibility and greater scrutiny from the public for Nigel Farage."