The police investigation involving Nicola Sturgeon’s husband is “moving forward” with prosecutors expected to receive a file within weeks, Scotland’s most senior officer has told Sky News.
The former prime minister and SNP the wife of the leader, Peter Murrell, was loaded in connection with embezzlement of party funds.
In her first interviews since taking over the UK’s second-largest police force, Chief Constable Jo Farrell insisted her officers are “objective” but refused to be asked whether the long-running investigation will end imminently.
The investigation, called Operation Branchform, was launched in July 2021 after officers received complaints about how SNP donations were used.
There have been questions over more than £660,000 raised for a second Scottish independence referendum campaign.
Police Scotland said Nicola Sturgeon remains under investigation after she was arrested and released without charge in 2023.
Former SNP treasurer Colin Beattie was also detained for almost 12 hours for questioning in spring last year.
The 72-year-old told Sky News he had heard “absolutely nothing” from police recently.
Murrell, 59, was chief executive of the SNP for two decades.
He left office weeks before his arrest and renounced his SNP membership following his police charge.
The investigation involved detectives seizing a £100,000 motorhome outside the home of one of Murrell’s elderly relatives.
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Officials concluded in April that there is enough evidence to charge Murrell with embezzling party funds.
The next step is for Scotland’s Crown Prosecution Service to receive a police report on the case and decide whether to go to court.
A Crown Office spokesperson said: “All prosecutors in Scotland act independently of political interference.
“As is routine, to protect the integrity of ongoing investigations, we do not comment in detail on his conduct.”
Chief Con Farrell was asked by Sky News why the investigation was taking so long to complete.
Chief Constable Jo Farrell described the investigation as ‘complex’
She said: “It is a real-time investigation, a complex investigation and the matter has progressed, and we expect the report to reach the Crown Office within a matter of weeks.”
Asked about continuing this investigation in a general election year, she said: “We investigated the allegations.
“We have very qualified, professional and objective people working on this case.”
The senior officer declined to say when the SNP investigation would be fully concluded or whether other individuals would face further questions.
“I’m not going to comment on the extent of the case. One person has been charged, the report will go to the Crown Office and it will be a real-time investigation,” she said.
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Mrs. Sturgeon unexpectedly announced his resignation as leader of the SNP and First Minister of Scotland months before police arrested her and her husband.
She has always insisted that the investigation never played any role in her sudden departure from office.
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