The Met Police is assessing evidence surrounding donations to Robert Jenrick’s Conservative leadership campaign in 2024.
Mr Jenrick is facing allegations that almost £40,000 worth of donations to his campaign originated from a foreign donor, which would be a breach of electoral rules.
The Met Police said it received a referral from the Electoral Commission earlier this year, which is understood to have been investigating allegations relating to donations from a UK based company, Spott Fitness Limited.
The Commission is understood to have been investigating donations made to Mr Jenrick’s campaign from a company called Spott Fitness Limited, a UK-registered company.
But Mr Jenrick has been accused of accepting that £37,500 from the company that had in fact originated from a US businessman.
The electoral commission confirmed it had deemed evidence outside their remit and referred the information to the Met Police on January 6.
The Met Police said: “On Tuesday, 6 January we received a referral from the Electoral Commission concerning donations connected to a leadership campaign.
“This referral is under review and until it has been completed, we’re not in a position to comment further.”
The Electoral Commission said: “We have been investigating donations connected to a 2024 leadership campaign. Evidence of potential offences outside our remit was referred to the Metropolitan Police Service on 6 January 2026.
“Our investigation is paused pending their assessment. We don’t discuss the details of our investigations and cannot comment further at this stage.”
The Commission is understood to have been investigating donations made to Mr Jenrick’s campaign from a company called Spott Fitness Limited, a UK-registered company.
But Mr Jenrick is facing allegations that £37,500 out of the £100,000 in donations from the UK-registered company were originally from a US-based company, Innovyz USA, founded by businessman Gary Klopfenstein.
It is illegal for foreign companies or individuals to donate to UK political parties under electoral law.
A spokesperson for Mr Jenrick told The Guardian he had complied with electoral laws and was unaware Mr Klopfenstein had been behind the donation. A spokesperson for Phillip Ullman, who was thought to have originally been the source of the donations, told the paper that he had been transparent with Mr Henrick’s campaign and voluntarily gave information to the Electoral Commission.
The Conservative Party confirmed on Monday that is has written to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards after the evidence was referred to the Met Police.
It is calling for a separate parliamentary standards investigation into the donations, in order to determine whether Mr Jenrick - who defected from the Conservative Party to Reform UK earlier this year - had broken the House of Commons Code of Conduct.
The party claims the donations were paid into the “Newark Parliamentary Campaign Fund”, a bank account set up through Mr Jenrick’s parliamentary office and separate from the local Conservative Association.
It says it was not aware of the acceptance of these funds at the time.
Tory Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake said: “Foreign donations are illegal. Politicians who funnel and hide unlawful money should face the full force of the law.
“The police must investigate Reform UK’s spokesman for Financial Affairs Robert Jenrick. The Conservative Party has also reported Mr Jenrick to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, given the apparent serious breach of House of Commons rules. Parliament, the public and the Conservative Party all appear to have been deceived.
“While Robert Jenrick has been kicked out of the Conservative Party and is now Nigel Farage’s right hand man, this represents serious malpractice in a leadership contest.”
Labour Party chair Anna Turley said the news “calls into question whether Jenrick has any respect for the integrity of our politics”.
“Reform have tried to dodge questions on the Richard Tice tax scandal. Their new recruit Jenrick must commit to immediately providing the police with the unvarnished truth on this matter.”
Reform UK, Innovyz USA and Spott Fitness Limited have been contacted for a comment.
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