Ex-Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon arrested for embezzlement

"Woman [Nicola Sturgeon] is in custody and is being questioned by Police Scotland detectives," say Police Scotland

Reuters

Web Desk

June 11, 2023

Scotlands former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon attends First Ministers Questions at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, Scotland, Britain March 18, 2021. — Reuters — Scotland's former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon attends First Minister's Questions at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, Scotland, Britain March 18, 2021. — Reuters

Scotland police said they arrested former Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon Sunday and is being questioned as a part of an inquiry into the Scottish National Party's (SNP) funding.

The police investigation is looking at what happened to more than 600,000 pounds ($750,000) raised by Scottish independence campaigners in 2017, which was supposed to have been ring-fenced but may have been used for other purposes.

In April, Sturgeon's husband, Peter Murrell and the party's then-treasurer were both arrested and then released without charge pending further investigation as part of the same inquiry.

Scotlands former First Minister and leader of the SNP, Nicola Sturgeon, stands with her husband Peter Murrell outside a Polling Station in Glasgow, Scotland. —AFP/File — Scotland's former First Minister and leader of the SNP, Nicola Sturgeon, stands with her husband Peter Murrell outside a Polling Station in Glasgow, Scotland. —AFP/File

"A 52-year-old woman has today, Sunday 11 June 2023, been arrested as a suspect in connection with the ongoing investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National Party," Police Scotland said in a statement on Twitter.

"The woman is in custody and is being questioned by Police Scotland detectives."

Sturgeon, Scotland's longest-serving leader of its semi-autonomous government, caught the political world by surprise when she announced her resignation in February, saying she had become too divisive to lead her country to independence.