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Shop the collectionConvicted fraudster George Cottrell, Nigel Farage’s right-hand man, has launched a polling company, but we can’t find any staff, any media coverage, or much polling data. So is it just a vehicle for dark money?
When George Cottrell’s new political enterprise, Geostrategy International Unlimited, first appeared on Companies House, anti-corruption campaigners sounded the alarm. As an unlimited company, Geostrategy doesn’t have to file accounts, potentially making it an ideal way to funnel dark money into Nigel Farage and Reform UK – a political project the Cottrell family has been financially backing.
The Geostrategy website only adds more weight to these concerns.
Instead of presenting polling data, it’s full of rightwing talking points: polling boosts for Reform and Farage, rising public concerns about immigration, strong support for Trump and Marine Le Pen and an analysis of GB News viewers’ values.
Geostrategy claims on its website that through its political polling services “we do not just deliver raw numbers, we translate data into strategic narratives”. Except the polling results they publish contain only basic data.
The firm claims it has offices in four countries, but we haven’t been able to identify a single member of staff, any media coverage, or any endorsements from polling or strategy experts. Its five followers on X appear to be bots. And yet the Geostrategy site keeps pumping out articles citing its results.
Cottrell’s company doesn’t publish the clients that have commissioned its polls – if indeed there are any clients. A spokesperson for the industry body British Polling Council had never heard of Geostrategy and noted that BPC members are required to publish client names alongside any commissioned poll. But as Geostrategy is not registered with the BPC, it’s anyone’s guess who they’re working for, or whether they are doing any polling at all. Given its thin profile and lack of endorsements or media coverage, we asked Geostrategy to show us any evidence that it’s a legitimate polling organisation. It read our emails, and ignored us.
There’s good reason to be suspicious of George Cottrell’s new enterprise. After a stint as UKIP’s chief fundraiser and Farage’s main bag carrier, he was jailed in the United States for wire fraud over the dark web.
Since his release, Cottrell has moved to Montenegro where he has set up a company called Private Family Office, hosted Farage after being welcomed back into his inner circle, reportedly lost €20m in one night playing poker, was accused of illegally financing one of the country’s political parties and linked to a crypto ATM installed inside a casino in Montenegro, Salon Prive. Through his lawyers, Cottrell has repudiated these last two allegations.
Geostrategy claims to have offices in four countries, but the address given on its website for its US branch – in Wyoming, a new secrecy jurisdiction of choice – does not match up with official records (it’s actually registered in Delaware). Its website showcases sleek video footage from Farage’s campaign trail in the UK and the US. A promo video advertises “party and candidate management,” and shows footage of meetings with Montenegrin Prime Minister Spajic of the Pokret Evropa Sad! (PES) Party. Cottrell through his lawyers had previously strenuously denied having any financial links to PES. Geostrategy didn’t respond to our request to clarify its relationship with PES or why it’s hosting campaign material for them.
Geostrategy’s website was created by 2399 Ltd, a digital media firm run by Reform’s former chief digital strategist. Sam Bhatti was deputy head of digital and chief digital strategist for Reform during the 2019 election, when it was the Brexit party, and worked closely with Farage’s private office. 2399 created websites for Farage, Richard Tice and Liz Truss and counts among its clients polling agency Redfield and Wilton Strategies, which made a name for itself predicting Trump wins in the last US elections, and big gains for Reform. The same 2399 employee who manages content on these sites also administers geostrategy.com. We asked Bhatti about 2399’s work for Geostrategy and its Reform and Conservative clients. He didn’t respond to our request for comment, either.
The wall of silence around Geostrategy makes these questions all the more urgent. We’ll be keeping a watch on Reform, as Farage’s fundraising machine gears up for the next election.
