Police are assessing evidence about donations to Robert Jenrick’s campaign to become Conservative leader in 2024 after a referral from the elections watchdog, the Guardian can reveal.

The information was passed on by the Electoral Commission, which the Guardian understands has been investigating allegations that almost £40,000 of donations to Jenrick’s leadership campaign before he defected to Reform UK, were from a foreign source in breach of electoral rules.

The Met 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 confirmed that it had sent evidence about a leadership campaign to the Met after conducting its own investigation, with its inquiries now paused while the police review the material. The exact scope of the review is unclear and the police have not confirmed whether it relates to any specific individual. They could decide to open an investigation or take no further action.

The Guardian has established the Electoral Commission received allegations relating to donations to Jenrick by a UK-based company, The Spott Fitness. It is understood the electoral investigation centred on claims that £37,500 out of the £100,000 in donations from The Spott Fitness was ultimately given by the US businessman Gary Klopfenstein via a US company he founded called Innovyz USA.

The allegations made to the Electoral Commission raise questions about whether the donations were permissible within electoral law, given foreign companies and individuals are not allowed to donate to UK politicians or parties.

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.”

A spokesperson for Jenrick said he and his campaign team had complied with all electoral laws. He said he had no knowledge of whether Mr Klopfenstein was behind some of the donation, and that he had never had any contact with him or been aware of any alleged connection with the Spott Fitness donation until the Electoral Commission made inquiries. They said Jenrick did not know anything about the police’s review and had not been contacted by them.

A spokesman for Phillip Ullman, a UK businessman previously thought to have been the ultimate source of donations made through The Spott Fitness, said he was transparent with Jenrick’s campaign and voluntarily gave information to the Electoral Commission.

The revelation that Jenrick’s political financing is under scrutiny will be embarrassing for the senior Reform politician as the party heads into the local elections.

At the time, Jenrick was a Conservative MP raising funds for a possible leadership bid to take over from Rishi Sunak, but he has since defected to Reform and is now Nigel Farage’s Treasury spokesperson. The Conservative party said that it had referred Jenrick to the parliamentary commissioner for standards.

A spokesman for Jenrick said: “The suggestion that Robert knowingly accepted impermissible donations is an untrue, politically motivated smear, put about years later by the Conservatives, despite the fact that Mr Ullman was introduced to Robert by a Tory MP, and had his donations’ permissibility checked by the party.

“Robert and his campaign team complied with all electoral laws when receiving the donation received from Spott Fitness Ltd in 2024. Mr Jenrick has never met, spoken to, or had any contact with Mr Klopfenstein, nor was he aware of any connection between him and Mr Ullman’s donation until he was contacted by the Electoral Commission. He fully cooperated with the Electoral Commission inquiry, providing detailed records that categorically disproved these smears in 2025.

“The dispute between these two businessmen, which seems to be the cause of these claims, has nothing to do with Robert. He does not know anything about the police’s review of this matter and has not been contacted by them, but he would, of course, provide any assessment, if indeed there is one, with the same records he provided the Electoral Commission.”

Until now, it had been thought the £100,000 was contributed by Ullmann, who revealed that Spott Fitness was part of his family’s group of companies when questions were asked about its ownership and a loan from another company based in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), in 2024.

According to Ullman, he gave information to the Electoral Commission in 2025 that £37,500 of the donation to Jenrick from The Spott Fitness came from Klopfenstein – a former business associate with whom he is now in a legal dispute – via Innovyz USA. Klopfenstein is alleged to have transferred the money to Spott Fitness through the firm Innovyz on 8 July 2024 and 24 July 2024.

A spokesperson for Ullmann said: “Mr Ullmann voluntarily disclosed additional information to the Electoral Commission … He has continued to engage proactively with their subsequent investigation ever since. He has fully responded to all the questions they have asked of him to date and stands ready to support the authorities in any way he can.” Ullman’s position is that he was transparent about the source of the donation with the Jenrick campaign and that he was unaware of any potential issues with Klopfenstein’s contribution.

In a previous 2024 statement, Ullman said: “I chose to give the money from Spott Fitness, a company which is part of my family’s group of businesses. It’s a phenomenal company that’s using tech to improve people’s health and will be a hugely successful business.

“But I don’t want there to be any suggestion at all that I’m hiding anything and I understand the importance of donor transparency. So I’m happy to confirm my connection to Spott. I love my country, I was born and raised in the UK and have always paid tax and lived here.”

Asked about the donation and Electoral Commission investigation, the Conservatives said they had referred Jenrick to the parliamentary standards commissioner. The Spott Fitness declined to comment. Klopfenstein did not respond to a request for comment.