Peter Murrell accused of embezzling £459,000 over 12-year period

Former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell is facing a charge of embezzling £459,000 from the party over a period of more than 12 years, it has emerged.

Details of the case against Murrell, the estranged husband of former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, are contained in a copy of an indictment seen by BBC News.

According to the document, Murrell is accused of embezzling the funds between August 2010 and January 2023.

He is accused of illicitly purchasing items including luxury goods, jewellery, cosmetics, two cars and a motorhome.

Details of the indictment were first published in the Scottish Sun.

Murrell is due to appear at the High Court in Glasgow on Friday 20 February for a preliminary hearing in the case.

He made no plea during an initial appearance at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last year after which he was granted bail.

Murrell was arrested in 2023 as part of Operation Branchform, a police investigation into the funding and finance of the SNP. He was charged with embezzlement in April 2024.

Sturgeon was also questioned by detectives, but police have since confirmed she is no longer under investigation.

BBC News has seen a copy of an indictment against Murrell ahead of the preliminary hearing next week.

These papers are subject to change up until the point the accused appears in court, and can be altered throughout the judicial process.

The indictment includes allegations that Murrell used party funds to buy a £124,550 motorhome "for your own personal use" from a dealer in Staffordshire, and that he created false documentation "to portray the purchase as a legitimate party expense".

Murrell is further accused of using £57,500 of SNP money towards the purchase of an £81,000 Jaguar I-PACE car in 2019.

It is also alleged that he falsified an invoice "in an attempt to disguise the true nature" of that purchase, and that when the Jaguar was sold in 2021, more than £47,000 was paid into his personal bank account.

Murrell is also alleged to have embezzled £16,489 from the SNP in part payment for a £33,000 Volkswagen Golf purchased in Newbridge, Edinburgh, in 2016.

The indictment includes a list of more than 80 retailers where Murrell was alleged to have made purchases totalling more than £159,000 between December 2014 and 2022, "for your own personal use or the personal use of others".

These range from Harrods, the Royal Mint and John Lewis to Homebase and Argos.

It claims these purchases were made using credit or charge cards belonging to the SNP, and that "false or inaccurate accounting codes and descriptions" for the purchases had been inserted into accounting systems.

The indictment also alleges Murrell made purchases with a value of over £81,600 through online retailer Amazon in the same manner.

Murrell held the position of SNP chief executive for 22 years.

He married Sturgeon in 2010, but the former party leader and first minister announced their separation in January 2025.