COPS working on Operation Branchform have revealed that the probe into SNP finances is “still ongoing”.
The investigation was launched in July 2021 after allegations were made about £600,000 of donations made to the party.
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Questions were raised about money raised between 2017 and 2019 for an indy referendum campaign.
The long-running inquiry saw Nicola Sturgeon and husband Peter Murrell arrested nearly two years later in 2023, along with SNP MSP and former long-time party treasurer Colin Beattie.
And four months after former SNP chief Mr Murrell was charged with alleged embezzlement, the force has said they are still investigating the case.
Police Scotland chief constable Jo Farrell was quizzed about Operation Branchform during an interview with Sky News.
When asked for an update on the investigation, she said: “That inquiry is ongoing.”
Farrell was also asked if Ms Sturgeon and Mr Beattie were still under investigation, and told the broadcaster: “Still ongoing”.
She was asked if there were questions she could see being raised due to the long nature of the investigation.
Responding, she said: “We come back to the same point in terms of… We, I have operational independence and we police without fear or favour and without any political interference”.
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She also said, “It’s an ongoing investigation – I’m not going to comment on that now” when asked about when the investigation would end.
LBC asked Farrell if the force was drawing in on a conclusion to the investigation, but she replied again: “Still ongoing.”
The former First Minister was grilled by detectives and then released without charge on June 11 last year.
Police carried out dramatic raids on Ms Sturgeon and ex-SNP chief exec Mr Murrell’s Glasgow home, as well as SNP HQ in Edinburgh just one week after she was replaced by Humza Yousaf.
Officers were seen carrying out boxes of evidence during the search of Ms Sturgeon and Mr Murrell’s home, where a forensics tent was pitched in front of their house.
They seized various items including a £110,000 Niesmann+Bischoff campervan from Mr Murrell’s mother’s house in Dunfermline.
It’s an ongoing investigation – I’m not going to comment on that now
Jo Farrell
On April 18 last year, Mr Beattie was then arrested at his home in Eskbank, Dalkeith, and was also later released without charge pending further inquiries.
In July, Police Scotland‘s outgoing Chief Constable Sir Iain Livingstone suggested Branchform’s scope had been widened and was looking into “potential embezzlement” and “misuse of funds”.
Speaking previously about her husband’s embezzlement charge, Ms Sturgeon said: “It’s incredibly difficult.”
She spoke outside the couple’s home as her successor Humza Yousaf also told of his “shock” at the development.
After appealing for privacy, Ms Sturgeon said: “I can’t say any more. I’m not going to say any more.”
Operation Branchform timeline
- 2017 – March 13 – IndyRef2 campaign fundraiser launched by SNP on website ref.scot – with £1million target – as Nicola Sturgeon announces she is requesting a second referendum with a letter to then PM Theresa May. The website says: “The success of our campaign will rely on the hard work and good will of tens of thousands of ordinary people across the country.”
- 2017 – June – snap General Election sees the SNP lose 21 of its 56 MPs. SNP later sidelines immediate IndyRef2 bid.The ref.scot crowdfunder is wound down
- 2017 – June 13 – SNP statement to The Herald newspaper says: “The funding that was raised during the period of the ref.scot crowdfunder will only be used for the specific purpose of a referendum campaign. In that regard, the money is earmarked. The money spent in the General Election campaign was taken from our general election appeal.”
- 2020 – October 28 – MSP and SNP Treasurer Colin Beattie – in the post since 2004 – sends an email to SNP members, saying he wanted to “quash rumours spreading on social media about one of our fundraising appeals”.
- 2020 – November 30 – Mr Beattie ousted as Treasurer when he loses SNP internal election, with members backing MP Douglas Chapman to replace him amid a push for greater transparency
- 2021 – March 20 – Three members of the SNP’s finance and audit committee quit.
- 2021 – March 27 – Indy activist Sean Clerkin makes a complaint to Police Scotland about the fate of the IndyRef2 cash raised in the 2017 online crowdfunder.
- 2021 – May 6 – Holyrood election. SNP spend £1,468,343 on the election campaign, according to returns later published
- 2021 – May 29 – Douglas Chapman tweets: ”Despite having a resounding mandate from members to introduce more transparency into the party’s finances, I have not received the support or financial information to carry out the fiduciary duties of National Treasurer. Regretfully I have resigned with immediate effect.”
- 2021 – June 3 – Mr Beattie returns as Treasurer.
- 2021 – June 20 – SNP chief executive Peter Murrell – Nicola Sturgeon’s husband – loans the SNP £107,620 which the SNP later says was to “assist with cashflow”.
- 2021 – July 13 – Police Scotland confirm they have begun a formal investigation into the allegations of financial irregularity. The probe is called Operation Branchform, and the SNP denies any wrongdoing and vows to cooperate.
- 2022 – June 30 – End of year accounts for 2021 show that the SNP had a £751,572 deficit in the calendar year 2021, with income of £4,510,460 and expenditure of £5,262,032
- 2022 – autumn – SNP auditors Johnston Carmichael – who signed off the 2021 accounts – resign.
- 2023 – February 15 – Nicola Sturgeon quits just a fortnight after claiming she has plenty left in the tank. She refuses to comment when asked about the cop probe. Ms Sturgeon is asked by a reporter: “Have you been, or do you expect, to be interviewed by the police who are looking into your party’s finances?” She replies: “I’m not going to discuss an ongoing police investigation. I wouldn’t do that on any issue and I’m not going to do it now.”
- 2023 – February 16 – SNP set out an accelerated five-and-a-half week timetable to for the leadership race, with SNP Business Convene Kirsten Oswald saying it is “not hugely lengthy”
- 2023 – March 27 – Humza Yousaf, who was favoured by the Sturgeon regime, is elected as SNP leader with a final round result of 52/48 percentage split over main rival Kate Forbes.
- 2023 – April 5 – Mr Murrell is arrested in a dramatic raid at he and Ms Sturgeon’s home in Glasgow, quizzed by officers and later released without charge pending further inquiries
- 2023 – April 18 – Mr Beattie is arrested.
- 2023 – April 21 – Mr Murrell is pictured in public for the first time since his arrest
- 2023 – April 22 – SNP support plummets with expert Prof John Curtice claiming the fraud investigation and leadership contest had “taken their toll on SNP support”.
- 2023 – April 26 – Ms Sturgeon returns to the Scottish Parliament and describes events as “very traumatic”.
- 2023 – May 16 – It emerges a warrant for the search of Nicola Sturgeon’s home wasn’t signed off until the SNP leadership race had concluded and Ms Sturgeon had left office as First Minister.
- 2023 – May 17 – Kenny MacAskill calls for a judge-led inquiry into the Crown Office’s handling of the SNP fraud probe.
- 2023 – June 11 – Ms Sturgeon is arrested, later released without charge, and named as a “suspect” by police.
Ms Sturgeon has repeatedly denied wrongdoing or that the probe had anything to do with her announcing her resignation in February 2023.
Speaking after Mr Murrell’s charge in April, Scottish Conservative chairman Craig Hoy said: “As the police probe continues, it is now more important than ever that all SNP staff and politicians, past and present, fully cooperate.
“The investigation, which has been going on for three years, appears to be reaching a conclusion and the SNP must commit to being fully open and transparent in this critical phase.”
Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie added: “This is another incredibly concerning development in this long-running investigation.
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“It is essential that Police Scotland is able to proceed with this investigation without interference.”
Nats bosses confirmed at the time that Mr Murrell resigned his SNP membership.
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