Millionaire UKIP donor Arron Banks will represent Belize at the Rio Olympics opening ceremony
Banks, who is British, may even be the flag bearer for the central American nation, one source says.
The businessman is best known in political circles as a prolific donor and opponent of the European Union. In 2014 he defected from the Conservatives to Eurosceptic party UKIP with a massive £1 million donation. In the run up to the referendum on whether Britain should leave the European Union, he spent millions of pounds of personal funds on Leave.EU, the anti-EU campaign group.
Jack Montgomery, a spokesperson for Leave.EU, said via email that Banks will "be part of the opening," though he couldn't confirm whether he would be flag bearer. Business Insider reached out to Banks and we will update this story if he responds.
The businessman, who is worth up to £100 million, will be joined in the Belize opening team by Andrew Wigmore - the Belizean former head of communications for Leave.EU - who is representing Belize in shooting at the Olympics. Wigmore is ranked 274 out of 274 in the world.
Banks was not immediately available for comment about his appearance with the Belize team. The donor is British, grew up in South Africa and England, and lives near Bristol in South-West England.
But he has links to Belize: The Guardian reported in March he is a "close friend" of Wigmore, who is also a Belize diplomat, and has thrown fundraising events for a Belize children's hospital.