'A dramatic fall from grace': Ex-Scottish first minister arrested as financial scandal probe deepens

11 June 2023

Scotland's former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has been arrested amid a financial scandal involving the Scottish National Party, The New York Timesreported on Sunday.

Sturgeon resigned in February over what she claimed at the time was the "brutality" of working in politics and a desire to focus on "Nicola Sturgeon the person."

According to the Times, "The news deepens the crisis engulfing the S.N.P., which campaigns for Scottish independence, following the earlier arrests of Ms. Sturgeon's husband, Peter Murrell, the party's former chief executive, and then of Colin Beattie, its former treasurer."

The Times noted that "Sturgeon was not named in a statement from Police Scotland, which said that 'a 52-year-old woman' had on Sunday 'been arrested as a suspect in connection with the continuing investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National Party,' adding that she was 'in custody and is being questioned' by detectives. The BBC and other British news outlets identified the arrested woman as Ms. Sturgeon."

Per the Times, "Police Scotland's inquiry, code-named Operation Branchform, began in 2021 and was reported to have followed complaints about the handling of around 600,000 pounds, or nearly $750,000, in donations raised to campaign for a second vote on Scottish independence. (A first referendum on the question was held in 2014, with Scots voting by 55 percent to 45 percent against independence.) The authorities are thought to be looking into whether money intended to fight for another vote on independence was diverted for a different purpose, and to be investigating why Mr. Murrell made a loan to the party."

The New York Times' report continues at this link (subscription required).

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