In a landmark ruling, Nathan Gill, a prominent hard-right British politician and former ally of Reform U.K. leader Nigel Farage, has been sentenced to ten and a half years in prison for accepting bribes to promote pro-Russian narratives in the European Parliament. The 52-year-old, who pleaded guilty earlier this year to eight counts of bribery, was found to have accepted at least £40,000 ($53,000) between December 2018 and July 2019. The bribes were orchestrated by Oleg Voloshyn, a pro-Russia Ukrainian politician, who tasked Gill with making favorable statements about Russia’s actions in Ukraine, including in the European Parliament and media outlets like 112 Ukraine. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 followed its annexation of Crimea in 2014, events that Gill’s statements sought to legitimize. Sentencing Gill at London’s Central Criminal Court, Justice Bobbie Cheema-Grubb condemned his actions, stating that he had allowed money to “corrupt his moral compass” and betrayed his duty to speak with honesty and conviction. Gill’s arrest in September 2021 at Manchester Airport, as he attempted to travel to Russia, and subsequent investigation revealed coded messages between him and Voloshyn, exposing their financial dealings. Gill, who was first elected to the European Parliament in 2014 for the anti-EU U.K. Independence Party, later represented the Brexit Party and remained in the legislature until the U.K.’s departure from the EU in 2020. Reform U.K., the successor to the Brexit Party, denounced Gill’s actions as “reprehensible, treasonous, and unforgivable,” expressing relief that justice had been served. Voloshyn, believed to be residing in Russia, is wanted by authorities in both the U.K. and Ukraine.
UK politician sentenced to over 10 years for accepting bribes to make pro-Russia statements
