{"id":30423,"date":"2026-02-14T14:57:30","date_gmt":"2026-02-14T19:57:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/?p=30423"},"modified":"2026-02-14T14:57:30","modified_gmt":"2026-02-14T19:57:30","slug":"former-scottish-national-party-chief-executive-peter-murrell-accused-of-embezzling-459000-over-12-year-period","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2026\/02\/14\/former-scottish-national-party-chief-executive-peter-murrell-accused-of-embezzling-459000-over-12-year-period\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Scottish National Party chief executive Peter Murrell accused of embezzling \u00a3459,000 over 12-year period"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell is facing a charge of embezzling \u00a3459,000 from the party over a period of more than 12 years, it has emerged.<\/b><\/p>\n

Details of the case against Murrell, the estranged husband of former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, are contained in a copy of an indictment seen by BBC News.<\/p>\n

According to the document, Murrell is accused of embezzling the funds between August 2010 and January 2023.<\/p>\n

He is accused of illicitly purchasing items including luxury goods, jewellery, cosmetics, two cars and a motorhome.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Details of the indictment were\u00a0first published in the Scottish Sun<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Murrell had originally been due to appear in court next Friday for a preliminary hearing in the case, but this will now take place at the High Court in Edinburgh on 25 May.<\/p>\n

He made no plea during an initial appearance at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last year after which he was granted bail.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"A<\/picture><\/span>Murrell was arrested in 2023 as part of a probe into the SNP’s finances (Image: PA Media)<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Murrell was arrested in 2023 as part of Operation Branchform, a police investigation into the funding and finance of the SNP. He was charged with embezzlement in April 2024.<\/p>\n

Sturgeon was also questioned by detectives, but police have since confirmed she is no longer under investigation.<\/p>\n

BBC News has seen a copy of an indictment against Murrell ahead of the preliminary hearing next week.<\/p>\n

These papers are subject to change up until the point the accused appears in court, and can be altered throughout the judicial process.<\/p>\n

The indictment includes allegations that Murrell used party funds to buy a \u00a3124,550 motorhome “for your own personal use” from a dealer in Staffordshire, and that he created false documentation “to portray the purchase as a legitimate party expense”.<\/p>\n

Murrell is further accused of using \u00a357,500 of SNP money towards the purchase of an \u00a381,000 Jaguar I-PACE car in 2019.<\/p>\n

It is also alleged that he falsified an invoice “in an attempt to disguise the true nature” of that purchase, and that when the Jaguar was sold in 2021, more than \u00a347,000 was paid into his personal bank account.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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