Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland's former first minister, has been released without charge following her arrest by the police. The arrest was made in connection with the ongoing investigation into the
funding and finances of the SNP. Sturgeon was taken into custody on Sunday morning and was questioned by detectives before being released at 17:24.
Police Scotland stated that a report would be sent to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, indicating that further investigations would be carried out. The police have been investigating the handling of £660,000 in donations given to the SNP by independence activists for a potential future independence referendum campaign over the past two years.
During the questioning, officers had a maximum of 12 hours to determine whether to press charges or release Sturgeon while they conduct additional inquiries. It should be noted that a suspect released pending further investigations can be re-arrested at a later date.
The arrest of Nicola Sturgeon follows the earlier arrest of her husband, former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, in April as part of Operation Branchform. Their home in Glasgow was searched by officers during the arrest. The SNP headquarters in Edinburgh and a motorhome located outside Mr. Murrell's mother's home were also searched. Colin Beattie, the party's treasurer, was arrested later, and both men were released pending further investigations. Beattie subsequently resigned as treasurer.
The arrest of Sturgeon was anticipated, considering her role as one of the signatories on the SNP's accounts, along with Murrell and Beattie. The investigation into Branchform began following complaints about the handling of £666,954 donated by activists for a potential future independence referendum campaign. The party's accounts revealed a bank balance of under £97,000 and total net assets of approximately £272,000 by the end of 2019.
It was disclosed last year that Murrell had provided a loan of over £100,000 to the SNP to address a "cash flow" issue after the previous election. While the party had repaid about half of the loan by October of that year, it still owes money to Murrell, although the exact amount has not been disclosed. Photo by Douglas Sinclair, Wikimedia commons.