While she had resigned in February, the former Scottish Prime Minister was arrested on Sunday. This arrest of the former independence leader comes as part of an investigation into the financing of her political party, the SNP, according to British media.
“A 52-year-old woman was arrested today, Sunday June 11, 2023, as a suspect in the ongoing investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National Party,” Police Scotland said. According to the British media, including the BBC and the PA agency, it is Nicola Sturgeon.
“The woman has been taken into custody and is being questioned by” Police Scotland, she added. Searches were carried out at several properties, including the home of Nicola Sturgeon and her husband, Peter Murrell, where a police tent was erected in the garden, and the SNP headquarters in Edinburgh, according to the PA news agency.
At the beginning of April, Peter Murrell, who until mid-March was director general of the SNP, was arrested as part of this investigation, before being released the same evening without prosecution.
A few days later, the treasurer of the SNP, Colin Beattie, was arrested. He too had been released without charges being brought against him.
The investigations then focused in particular on the use of donations of 600,000 pounds sterling (683,000 euros) collected in recent years to organize a new independence referendum, a project at an impasse in the face of rejection from London. The media also raised questions about a loan he allegedly paid to the party.
