Ex-SNP chief executive Peter Murrell admits embezzling £400,000 in party funds
Former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell has been remanded in custody after pleading guilty to embezzling more than £400,000 from the party.
The 61-year-old admitted the charge at the High Court in Edinburgh on Monday.
Murrell, who is the estranged husband of former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, admitted embezzling £400,310.65 from the SNP between August 2010 and October 2022.
The guilty plea came after the amount on the indictment was reduced from more than £459,000.
The court heard Murrell used party funds to buy items including a motorhome, luxury goods and two cars.
Sentencing has been deferred until 23 June.
Murrell had been chief executive of the SNP for more than 20 years before stepping down in 2023 during the party’s leadership contest following Ms Sturgeon’s resignation.
He was first arrested in April 2023 as part of Police Scotland’s Operation Branchform investigation into SNP finances, before being charged the following year.
Assistant Chief Constable Stuart Houston described the case as “lengthy and extremely complex”, saying Murrell had shown “utter contempt” for the public trust placed in him.
He said investigators spent more than four years carrying out enquiries across Europe, alleging Murrell used false receipts and accounting methods to hide his offending while funding “the lavish lifestyle he craved but could not afford”.
Operation Branchform was launched in 2021 to investigate the SNP’s funding and finances. Police Scotland has previously said the cost of the investigation exceeded £2 million.