British backer of Brexit investigated over where his $10 million contribution came from

A financier of the controversial Brexit movement that has torn the U.K. apart has been placed under investigation by the National Crime Agency looking at financial irregularities as well exactly where the money for the loan he made to the campaign came from.

According to The Daily Beast, Arron Banks has described himself as one of the “bad boys of Brexit” and is acknowledged as one of the biggest individual donors in British political history, funding pro-Brexit "Better For The Country," whose public face was Nigel Farage.

The report states that Banks reportedly provided the organization with £8 million ($10 million) in funds -- but now there are questions over whether he was funneling the money from elsewhere.

According to the report, Banks "met Donald Trump in late 2016 with Farage — who has long been a controversial figure with business links to Russia. He is known to have been offered three Russian business deals during the Brexit campaign, including one which gave him the chance to make huge profits from a Russian gold company."

In a statement, Britain's Electoral Commission said it suspected the huge donation to the Leave.EU campaign came not from Banks -- who met with Alexander Yakovenko, Vladimir Putin’s U.K. envoy, on at least four occasions -- but “from impermissible sources.”

According to the report, the NCA has the technical ability to trace illicit cross-border money trails.

You can read more here and watch a BBC report about Banks' relationship with Russia below: