Former Scottish National Party (SNP) chief executive Peter Murrell has been charged with embezzling party funds. Detectives have now sent their report to Scotland’s prosecution service in relation to Mr Murrell. The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) will decide if there is enough evidence to prosecute Mr Murrell and whether a prosecution would be in the public interest. Mr Murrell is the husband of Nicola Sturgeon, the former first minister of Scotland. Investigations into both Mr Murrell and Ms Sturgeon remain ongoing.
Mr Murrell was arrested on 5 April 2023 but was released without charge, and further inquiries were carried out. Almost two weeks later, SNP treasurer Colin Beattie was arrested and released pending further investigations. He later stepped down as treasurer. Ms Sturgeon was arrested on 11 June 2023, and officers questioned her for more than seven hours before she too was released without charge while further inquiries were carried out.
Police Scotland’s Operation Branchform has been investigating what happened to £660,000 of donations given to the SNP by independence activists. On the day of Mr Murrell’s arrest, officers searched the home he shares with Ms Sturgeon in Glasgow. The SNP’s headquarters in Edinburgh were searched on the same day, and a luxury motorhome valued at about £110,000 was also seized by police from outside the home of Mr Murrell’s mother in Dunfermline.
In a statement, COPFS said that the police report related to incidents said to have occurred between 2016 and 2023. Ms Sturgeon denied that her decision to resign as first minister and SNP leader in March of last year was influenced by the police investigation. Investigations into both Mr Beattie and Ms Sturgeon remain ongoing. Police Scotland has submitted a “standard prosecution report” to the Crown Office, and investigations continue
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