Member of the House of Lords of the British Parliament and former Secretary General of the Labor Party Ian McNicol appealed to the Ethics Parliamentary Committee, apologizing for the promotion of the Astra Protocol crypto company.

Macnicol admitted that, promoting Astra Protocol, he violated the rules of the House of Lords. In June 2023, the McNicol worked as a paid consultant to Astra Protocol. During official government consultations, the official tried to convince her treasury officials that Astra Protocol could help develop the rules for regulating cryptocurrencies.

Then, contacting the Ministry of Finance, the Macnicol praised the Astra Protocol for the fact that the project formed a “respected team consisting of veterans of the industry and experienced advisers”. The Astra team is able to advise the government on new financial technologies and cryptocurrencies, Maknicol insisted. He called on the treasury to soften the attitude to the crypto industry, fearing that the department could “strangle innovations” in the decentralized finance market (Defi). At that time, the Astra Protocol team released a token, the course of which subsequently collapsed to zero. At the same time, the company stated that it complies with the requirements of the regulators.

The letter of Maknicol became known after the journalists of The Guardian newspaper completed a many-month investigation of the commercial interests of the Lightor Params in the House of Lords. After the detection of violations, the Commissioner for compliance with the standards of the Chamber Margaret Obi demanded an official investigation. Ob said that the Macnicol provided “paid parliamentary services”, violating the ethical code of parliamentarians. This Code prohibits peers benefit from their position through paid consultations or services.

Ob said that McNicol did not receive a direct cash payment for a letter sent to the ministry, but the constant fee from Astra Protocol meant that the letter was already part of his paid services. Given the limited nature of the correspondence, the violation of the McNicol was recognized as insignificant. The commissar for standards did not impose sanctions on him, but only ordered McNicol to send written apologies for the Ethics Committee of the House of Lords.

Recently, the Minister of Finance of Great Britain Rachel Reeves submitted the rules for regulating cryptocurrencies, according to which cryptocurrency exchanges and services should be regulated by analogy with traditional financial companies.