{"id":2921,"date":"2025-11-21T17:51:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-21T17:51:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=2921"},"modified":"2025-11-21T17:51:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T17:51:07","slug":"ex-leader-of-reform-uk-in-wales-jailed-for-10-years-over-pro-russia-bribes-courts-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=2921","title":{"rendered":"Ex-leader of Reform UK in Wales jailed for 10 years over pro-Russia bribes | Courts News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>Judge says Nathan Gill, a former leader of the Reform UK party in Wales, \u2018abused position of authority and trust\u2019.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-dates\">\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Published On 21 Nov 2025<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">21 Nov 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-share\" data-testid=\"rich-share\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__button-wrapper\"><button class=\"rich-share__button row\" aria-expanded=\"false\"><\/p>\n<p>Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"icon icon--share2 icon--primary icon--16 \" viewbox=\"0 0 20 16\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><title>share2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>The former leader of the Reform UK party in Wales\u00a0has been sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for accepting bribes to make pro-Russia statements in the European Parliament.<\/p>\n<p>London\u2019s Central Criminal Court, better known as the Old Bailey, sentenced Nathan Gill, 52, to 10 years and six months in prison on Friday.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 3 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>A former Member of the European Parliament and ex-leader of Reform UK in Wales, Gill pleaded guilty in September to accepting thousands of euros from a pro-Russian politician in Ukraine between 2018 and 2019, and making scripted statements and television appearances at his behest.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou abused a position of significant authority and trust,\u201d Judge Bobbie Cheema-Grubb said as the sentence was handed down, adding that Gill\u2019s conduct \u201cfundamentally compromised the integrity of a supranational legislative body\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou accepted payments from foreign nationals, made statements on important international matters at their behest, utilised scripted material presented as your own, and orchestrated the involvement of other MEPs,\u201d Cheema-Grubb said.<\/p>\n<p>Gill was first elected to the European Union legislature with the EU-sceptic UKIP party, which was then led by Reform UK\u2019s current leader Nigel Farage.<\/p>\n<p>He later represented the Brexit Party, another party led by Farage, before leaving the European Parliament when the United Kingdom left the EU in early 2020.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4121800\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4121800\" style=\"width:770px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-arc-image-770 wp-image-4121800\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/reuters_69207be4-1763736548.jpg?w=770&amp;resize=770%2C513&amp;quality=80\" alt=\"FILE PHOTO: Nigel Farage United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) member and MEP, talks to journalists as he stands with Member of the European Parliament Nathan Gill and UKIP press officer Hermann Kelly as they leave the Hautepierre Hospital in Strasbourg, France, October 6, 2016, where Steven Woolfe, of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), was in, after suffering &quot;epileptic-like&quot; seizures on Thursday following an &quot;altercation&quot; at a heated European Parliament meeting on the party's future. REUTERS\/Vincent Kessler\/File Photo\" fetchpriority=\"low\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4121800\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gill, left, stands next to Farage, centre, during a news conference in Strasbourg, France, in 2016 [File: Vincent Kessler\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>He was stopped at Manchester Airport in September 2021 as he attempted to travel to Russia and was charged in February of this year following an investigation.<\/p>\n<p>Gill pleaded guilty to eight counts of accepting bribes between December 2018 and July 2019 from Ukrainian politician Oleg Voloshyn, who was later sanctioned by the United States and indicted for treason in Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>Police said messages were found on Gill\u2019s mobile phone between him and Voloshyn that provided coded references to their financial dealings.<\/p>\n<p>There were also references to other members of the European Parliament, including British representatives and politicians from the Netherlands.<\/p>\n<p>Farage \u2013 whose Reform UK party is topping several public opinion polls in the United Kingdom \u2013 has said he did not know about his former colleague\u2019s missteps. Gill is no longer a Reform member.<\/p>\n<p>But the case could be a headache for Farage, who has been accused of being soft on Russia despite global condemnation of its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>In a statement, Reform said Gill\u2019s actions were \u201creprehensible, treasonous and unforgivable\u201d and that it was pleased that \u201cjustice has been served\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Judge says Nathan Gill, a former leader of the Reform UK party in Wales, \u2018abused position of authority and trust\u2019. Published On 21 Nov 202521 Nov 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share The former leader of the Reform UK party in Wales\u00a0has been sentenced to more than 10 years in prison [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2922,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2921"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2921\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}