The former chief executive of the Scottish National Party used false invoices and fraudulent expenses claims to cover up his embezzlement of around 400,000 of party funds, a court heard on Tuesday.
Peter Murrell, the estranged husband of former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, used the SNP bank account under his control, as well as a party charge card, to buy goods from motor vehicles to luxury watches for his personal use.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard an agreed “narrative” on events surrounding a scandal that has gripped the country and overshadowed the first weeks of the SNP’s fifth term in office at Holyrood.
Murrell, who pleaded guilty to embezzlement last month, will be sentenced on June 23.
A large amount of the stolen funds related to motor vehicles, including a 124,550 Niesmann+Bischoff motorhome purchased in October 2020 and then delivered to an industrial estate.
Murrell drove the motorhome four miles to his mother’s home in Dunfermline, where it remained parked until seized by police in April 2023, according to the prosecution.
The day after purchasing the vehicle, Murrell ordered three guides on “inspirational journeys around Scotland, England and Wales, and Ireland in a camper van or motorhome”.
He created a false invoice in the name of the dealer with the SNP’s headquarters listed as the customer address, rather than his home address. The description of the vehicle was changed from motorhome to van and details of additional features, including satellite...
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