Court documents reveal that Peter Murrell faces accusations of embezzling £459,000 from the Scottish National party over more than a decade. The former SNP chief executive is scheduled to appear at Glasgow’s high court next Friday for a preliminary hearing in the case.
Between August 2010 and January 2023, Murrell allegedly misappropriated party funds to purchase personal items spanning luxury goods, jewellery, cosmetics, vehicles, and a motorhome. The charges detail a pattern of unauthorized spending using organizational resources for his own benefit.
Prosecutors allege Murrell purchased a £124,550 Niesmann and Bischoff motorhome from a Stafford dealer, falsifying sales documents to disguise the transaction as legitimate party business. Similarly, he allegedly contributed £57,500 in SNP money toward an £81,000 Jaguar I-Pace purchase in 2019. Additional allegations include fabricated invoices for Apple products and German retailer purchases, along with using party funds to settle a parking fine.
Murrell served as the party’s chief executive for 22 years before charges were filed. Police arrested him in 2023 under Operation Branchform, an investigation into SNP financial management, with embezzlement charges formally brought in April 2024. He appeared in Edinburgh sheriff court previously and received bail without entering a plea.
Operation Branchform also examined the conduct of former first minister and party leader Nicola Sturgeon, Murrell’s ex-husband. Police questioned Sturgeon in June 2023 but subsequently cleared her of involvement. In her memoir published last August, Sturgeon described her distress during the police raid on her Glasgow home, characterizing the experience as deeply traumatic and bewildering.
