Billionaire Reform Donor Linked to Iranian Regime Through Business Deal

Exclusive: Sasan Ghandehari’s partnership with a religious foundation raises questions about past dealings with a republic criticized by Nigel Farage.

Sasan Ghandehari, a billionaire donor to Reform UK, has come under scrutiny for his business ties to a powerful Iranian religious foundation linked to the country's supreme leader. Ghandehari, who has pledged millions to the party and donated £50,000 to Farage for passes to the Davos World Economic Forum, is reportedly moving his tax residency from Switzerland to the UK to facilitate regular payments of over £1 million to the party.

The 61-year-old Iranian-born British businessman claims to manage a $10 billion (£7 billion) fund known as HP Trust. However, he has not disclosed details about how his family amassed their wealth, stating only that the fund holds assets in Europe and North America.

A recent French arbitration decision has revealed Ghandehari's past dealings with Iranian state-linked entities from 2013 to 2016. It also highlights his connections to another Reform UK donor, John Richard Simpson, whose design firm has worked with the Ghandehari family and contributed £200,000 to the party last year.

Farage has been vocal against Iran, labeling it a greater threat to the UK than Vladimir Putin. The French judgment indicates that Ghandehari was a major investor in a joint venture to supply and build a fibre-optic cable for telecommunications across Iran, partnering with a state-linked Iranian entity. His HP Trust held a 49% stake in the venture, named Omran Razavi International Co, while the remaining 51% was owned by Astan Quds Razavi (AQR), a multibillion-pound religious foundation in Mashhad.