An investigation by the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command has led to a former Member of European Parliament for the UK being jailed, after he accepted bribes from a pro-Russian Ukrainian politician in exchange for making statements that supported pro-Russian narratives.
Nathan Gill, 52 (06.07.1973), of Anglesey, North Wales pleaded guilty on 26 September at the Old Bailey to eight counts of bribery, under the Bribery Act, 2010. Gill was sentenced today, 21 November to a total of 10 years and six months’ imprisonment.
Commander Dominic Murphy, Head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, which led the investigation, said: “This sentencing should send a clear message that any efforts by foreign powers to bribe people in the UK in elected and influential positions will not be tolerated. It also shows that there are grave and severe consequences for anyone here who engages with that sort of activity.
“Instead of looking after the interests of his constituents and the interests of the UK, Gill was more concerned about making money for himself by peddling views and opinions that were in support of the Russian state’s activities in Ukraine – which, as demonstrated by the ongoing war in Ukraine, we have seen to be quite appalling.
“I’d like to thank our European partners, as well as colleagues in the US and FBI for their support in this investigation. The strength of the evidence and case we put together gave Gill little choice other than to plead guilty. It should also send a clear message that we will work closely together with our partners to disrupt this kind of activity and protect our collective democratic values and our national security.”
Detectives began to uncover Gill’s offences as a result of him being stopped by police on 13 September, 2021 at Manchester airport. Gill was due to fly to Moscow later that day, when he was stopped under schedule 3 of the Counter Terrorism and Borders Security Act, 2019 and officers seized his mobile phone for further examination.
At the same time as Gill was being stopped and spoken to at the airport, Counter Terrorism detectives also carried out a search at Gill’s home address in Anglesey, where further electronic items were seized. Officers also found a quantity of cash at his home – around 5,000 in Euros and US Dollars respectively.
Officers found evidence on his phone that showed Gill was in contact with a pro-Russian politician in Ukraine – Oleg Voloshyn. Messages found by detectives showed Gill had agreed that, in exchange for money, he would make certain statements that were supportive of pro-Russia media being present in Ukraine.
Voloshyn also bribed Gill to make certain comments and statements criticising the Ukrainian government’s decision to ban certain media outlets, as well as criticising the criminal investigation into pro-Russian politician Viktor Medvedchuk, who was being investigated for treason in Ukraine at the time.
Some of the messages between the pair appeared to be coded – referencing the exchange of ‘Xmas gifts’ or ‘postcards’ in lieu of explicitly discussing money. However, as the pair continued to exchange messages, officers found more explicit examples where they openly discussed Gill receiving sums of ‘5k’ for the activities Voloshyn was requesting.
Through the course of the investigation, officers liaised with international partners, including the various European and US agencies. In particular, the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) in the US were able to share key evidence that allowed detectives in London to positively attribute the messages sent to Gill as coming from Voloshyn.
In total, detectives were able to identify eight specific occasions between December 2018 and July 2019, where Gill had agreed to make statements or encourage other MEPs to make statements that parroted the pro-Russian narratives Voloshyn was providing; and that he was agreeing to do this in exchange for money or reward.
From other open-source enquiries, officers were also able to identify the respective statements made by Gill – either to the media or in the European Parliament – some of which were almost verbatim copies of the scripts Voloshyn provided.
Gill was interviewed under caution in March 2022 but made no comment to the questions put to him. After further enquiries were carried out, and liaising with the Crown Prosecution Service, various bribery charged were authorised and Gill was issued with these via postal charge requisition on 20 January, 2025.
The CPS also authorised a charge of conspiracy to commit bribery against Oleg Voloshyn, although he has never been arrested by UK police and he remains wanted in respect of this matter.
Gill pleaded guilty to the eight bribery charges as detailed above. He pleaded not guilty to an additional charge of conspiracy to commit bribery, under the Criminal Law Act 1977 and this charge lies on file.