Sarah Olney

Fellow right hon. and hon. Members will have noticed that some political parties have begun accepting cryptocurrency donations—far be it from me to suggest that this might be an attempt to dodge the transparency requirements for donations. Does the Minister join me in welcoming the Electoral Commission’s clear guidance that donations that do not come from a permissible or identifiable source must be returned, and will he be speaking with ministerial colleagues in other Departments about making sure that the forthcoming elections Bill ensures that any political donation involving crypto is fully transparent and in line with our laws?

We have talked already about fraud and scams, which are causing huge harm throughout our economy. I will not say too much about cryptocurrency, but there is no doubt that the landscape of crypto offers unseen, untold opportunities for future fraud, and we must get our heads around that. Fraud is causing huge harm to individuals and our economy, and current structures for tackling it are not fit for purpose.