Nicola Sturgeon questioned by police in Scottish National Party finances investigation

Nicola Sturgeon was released without charge on Sunday night pending further investigation after being questioned by police into investigating the finances of the Scottish National Party, which she once led.

The arrest of the former Scottish Prime Minister marked the latest dramatic twist in a story that has dominated Scottish politics for months and has plunged the Independence Party into bitter power struggles.

Here is POLITICO’s guide to the investigation so far.

What is the investigation about?

To answer this we have to go back to early 2017 and witness the struggle for Scottish independence.

The Sturgeon-led SNP was in fine shape – senior party members believed that Brexit, rejected by a majority of Scottish voters in 2016, gave them reason to seek a new referendum on the UK’s break-up.

With this in mind, the SNP has opened a new channel for donations to further their campaign for a new vote.

Around £482,000 was raised in just a few months. But Westminster’s own wild politics intervened when Theresa May rolled the dice and called a snap election. While May was badly injured himself, the SNP lost 21 seats in Westminster in that vote, a disappointing setback for a party hoping to exploit Scottish anger over Brexit.

The party suspended the second fundraiser for the referendum just three months after it began – and stopped accepting donations. The SNP said the money was “earmarked” to fight a future referendum and would not be used to fund its campaign.

In 2019, another donation portal was launched for a second referendum. Fundraising for this and the first appeal ended up totaling £666,953 – a figure that would crop up again and again for years to come.

Despite repeated calls for a referendum by SNP activists and pro-independence supporters, one has yet to materialize as the party disagrees on a strategy for winning its biggest win. And those who donated their hard-earned money began to wonder what it was being spent on.

When the Electoral Commission regulator released the SNP’s 2019 accounts in 2020, it revealed the party had just under £97,000 in the bank despite the “earmarked” fundraising. SNP Treasurer Colin Beattie promptly wrote to all donors, saying the funds “remain earmarked for a referendum” and “flow through” accounts.

The next year saw several high-profile resignations from SNP leadership over a lack of transparency — including the resignation of Douglas Chapman, an MP who had replaced Beattie as Treasurer. Chapman said he did not receive enough information from the party to do his job.

Four days after Chapman resigned, Sturgeon herself became interim treasurer. She would be replaced by the returning Beattie.

When did the police get involved?

Remember the name Sean Clerkin. He could just go down in history.

Clerkin, a regular protester who used to make a name for himself for chasing a beleaguered Scottish Labor leader into a sandwich shop, made the first complaint to Police Scotland about the use of donations.

After six further reports, the police launched a formal investigation in July 2021.

Operation Branchform, as the police called it, was live.

Officials only began interviewing witnesses in 2023, after more than a year of evidence collection and research.

Meanwhile, more details came to light, raising more questions for SNP executives.

In December 2022, the Wings Over Scotland blog, run by a critic of the SNP under Sturgeon, revealed details of a loan made by then party leader Peter Murrell to the SNP in 2021.

Murrell – Sturgeon’s husband – has loaned the SNP interest-free £107,620 of his own money around six weeks after the 2021 Scottish General Election.

The SNP confirmed the loan, which was belatedly reported to the Election Commission, saying it was a “personal contribution” to support “cash flow.” The SNP still has to repay the loan in full.

Who was arrested?

The year 2023 brought a series of dramatic developments in Scottish politics.

Sturgeon caused shock in February when she announced her resignation as First Minister and SNP leader at a hastily arranged press conference in Edinburgh.

Citing the personal strain of the job and a desire to “liberate” her party – which still heads Scotland’s decentralized government – to choose its own independence strategy, Sturgeon said it was an “immeasurable privilege.” “ been to serve.

It was the start of a bitter race to succeed her as SNP leader and first minister (Humza Yousaf won that race, by the way). But the real news lay elsewhere.

On April 5 of this year, Murrell — who was removed as CEO during the SNP’s leadership contest — was arrested in connection with the police investigation.

Scottish police confirmed they were conducting searches at several addresses, including Murrell and Sturgeon’s home in Glasgow and the SNP’s headquarters in Edinburgh.

Murrell was released without charge pending further investigation.

Barely two weeks later, Beattie — the SNP treasurer, mind you — was arrested in connection with the investigation. He was also released without charge pending further investigation. The next day he resigned from his position as responsible for the finances of the SNP.

Between those two arrests, police also seized a luxury motor home outside the home of 92-year-old Margaret Murrell, Peter’s mother. It was one of the more surreal moments of a truly mind-blowing saga that cornered Yousaf in his attempt to guide the SNP through the crisis.

Then came Sturgeon’s arrest.

Police Scotland said on Sunday that the former First Minister had been “arrested as a suspect in connection with the ongoing investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National Party”. Police said Sturgeon was questioned by investigators after his arrest Sunday at 10:09 a.m. and was released without charge at 5:24 p.m. “pending on further investigation.”

Sturgeon said in a statement Sunday night: “Innocence is not just a presumption that I am legally entitled to. I know without a doubt that in fact I am not to blame for any wrongdoing.”