Gill received prison sentence for bribes to promote Russian claims

The 52-year-old politician pleaded guilty to eight counts of bribery under the Bribery Act at London's Central Criminal Court on November 21.

The judge added that Gill would be eligible for parole after serving half of his sentence.

According to the investigation, Gill received money from a politician described as a "pro-Russian Ukrainian figure." In exchange for the money, he was to use his status and influence to spread narratives favorable to the Kremlin and support a pro-Russian position in the public sphere.

The prosecution uncovered WhatsApp messages between Gill and pro-Russian politician in Ukraine, Oleg Voloshyn.

The Minister for Veterans Affairs and Deputy Head of the UK Ministry of Defence, Alistair Carnes, called on the Reform party to "conduct a full investigation" to "eliminate any Russian influence in the party."

After the sentencing hearing at the Old Bailey, London's police counter-terrorism team said it was still investigating whether anyone else had committed similar crimes.

Nathan Gill was a guest on Ukrainian TV channels "112 Ukraine" and NewsOne. Both were part of the holding "Novyny", which was controlled by Putin's godfather Viktor Medvedchuk. Both TV channels were blocked by Zelensky in early February 2021. Sanctions were imposed for five years.

Prosecutor Mark Haywood told the court that in December 2018 Voloshin wrote to Gill that he had received "all the Christmas presents he had been promised" and asked for "five more gift cards", referring to sums of money. He said further messages confirmed that the money had come from Medvedchuk.

"There is clear evidence of agreements to act in a certain way or according to a certain scenario for certain amounts of money," the prosecutor adds.

In addition, according to the prosecution, in the messages Voloshin asked Gill to find at least "two more" MEPs who would be on his side.

This is the first time in British history that a politician of this level has been convicted on charges of bribery in favor of foreign influence.