Last Sunday, the former first minister of Scotland – Nicola Sturgeon – was arrested by police in connection with an ongoing investigation of the Scottish National Party (SNP). The country’s political party is currently at the centre of an investigation associated with alleged gambling-related misappropriation of funds.
As the Scottish Police confirmed in a statement, the former leader was released after seven hours of questioning, with the investigation still underway. A spokesperson for the Scottish National Party indicated that the 52-year-old former minister voluntarily responded to the police request the visit the station, where she was eventually arrested and questioned. Back in April, the police arrested the husband of Ms Sturgeon, Peter Murrell, as part of the same investigation, and then released him, too.
For the time being, Ms Sturgeon, who resigned from her position in February, has not faced any charges.
Former First Minister of Scotland Denies Any Wrongdoings
Although Ms Sturgeon’s identity was not initially revealed, police forces later confirmed she was arrested and questioned. The ex-SNP leader used her official Twitter account to share that the experience has been deeply shocking and distressing for her and to share her appreciation for her supporters. The former minister of Scotland also said that she had not committed any offence and noted that she would never harm either the SNP or the country.
In her statement on Twitter Ms Sturgeon claimed that she was innocent of any wrongdoing.
STATEMENT pic.twitter.com/MlpWJGzwi0
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) June 11, 2023
At the beginning of the investigation into the alleged financial misconduct, she did not represent a person of interest and she was not expected to be one herself. However, Ms Sturgeon eventually issued a statement saying she was willing to help investigators in any way possible. Now, some analysts have shared that her June 11th arrest might indicate that the police have a reason to suspect that the former first minister of Scotland had been involved in some of the actions that led to the investigation, even though she was released without facing any charges.
Ongoing Investigation Checks Alleged SNP Links to the Online Gambling Industry
The investigation focuses on clarifying the destination of £600,000 that was collected by the Scottish National Party to finance the preparation of a possible referendum on the independence of Scotland. According to media reports, the ongoing probe is now focused particularly on the origin of no less than £400,000 of the aforementioned amount.
At the time of collection, the political party did not declare the money to the Electoral Commission and did so much later. The SNP claims that the money, which it described as a “personal contribution”, has already been repaid.
As mentioned above, Ms Sturgeon’s husband got arrested in April after being accused of allegedly having lent over £100,000 of his own money to the Scottish National Party in June 2021. He was also released within hours of his arrest without facing any charges. The same happened to Colin Beattie, the party’s treasurer.
The scandal with the alleged money embezzlement within the SNP grew even further due to the party’s alleged links to the online casino industry. According to reports, Mr Murrell created a website to raise money for Scotland’s independence movement started pointing to a gambling company’s affiliate in March, and remains active to this date.
- Author
Olivia Cole
