George Cottrell

In March 2017, Cottrell was sentenced and released by Judge Diane Humetewa having served eight months in prison.

Cottrell was a senior advisor to Nigel Farage and head of fundraising for the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) up until his arrest following the 2016 Republican National Convention.

On 22 July 2016, while attending the Republican National Convention with Farage, Cottrell was arrested by IRS agents at Chicago O'Hare International. Cottrell was federally indicted on 21 counts for conspiracy to commit money laundering, wire fraud, blackmail and extortion. Denied bail by a judge who branded Cottrell a "serious flight risk" he was detained in custody at Metropolitan Correctional Center, Chicago.

Cottrell's indictment states how in 2014 he met with undercover federal agents in Las Vegas, where he conspired to launder millions of dollars worth of drug money using offshore bank accounts. However, following a plea agreement in December 2016, prosecutors agreed to dismiss 20 counts in return for a guilty plea to a single count of wire fraud in which Cottrell admitted to explaining various ways criminal proceeds could be laundered.

Cottrell was listed as a director in a number of businesses from a young age, both in the UK and overseas. Starting in 2013 Cottrell assumed a number of roles at banks including Credit Suisse, JP Morgan and Banca Privada d'Andorra (BPA). Following the 2015 UK general election Cottrell was appointed deputy treasurer of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP).

Cottrell's uncle Alexander Fermor-Hesketh, 3rd Baron Hesketh was a government minister and Conservative Party treasurer who defected to the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) in 2011.

George Cottrell (born 1 October 1993) is a British former politician, financier, and convicted felon.