Former Scottish National Party chief pleads guilty to embezzling $540,000
Key takeaways
- Murrell is the former husband of ex-SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon, who suddenly resigned in 2023, shortly before she was arrested as part of the probe into the party’s finances.
- After Murrell’s plea, Sturgeon reiterated her innocence and said that she had “no knowledge or suspicion whatsoever that he was using SNP funds for personal purposes.”
- “I am utterly appalled that he did so and cannot begin to understand why,” Sturgeon said. “I was misled just as others were.”
Why this matters: local context for readers following news across Pakistan and the region.
Add ARY News on Google AAResize Former Scottish National Party chief executive Peter Murrell pleaded guilty on Monday to embezzling more than £400,000 ($540,000), admitting diverting funds from the party to buy items such as cars, a motorhome and luxury goods.
Murrell is the former husband of ex-SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon, who suddenly resigned in 2023, shortly before she was arrested as part of the probe into the party’s finances. She was cleared of wrongdoing in March last year.
The police probe, the arrest of the SNP’s longest-serving leader and the conviction of her former husband have prompted embarrassing questions for the pro-independence party which has dominated Scottish politics for nearly two decades.