When Nicola Sturgeon tendered his resignation in surprise last February as chief Executive of Scotland after more than 30 years associated with independence He gave many reasons. Among them, the “human” and that I need a change. He never called the police investigation into the finances of his party, the SNP, involved mysterious donation of 667,000 pounds (761,000 euros) for a new referendum that never existed. But the investigation has turned into a row of dominoes. Little by little all the pieces have fallen until it turns out to be one of the most respected politicians in Great Britain.

Sturgeon was arrested this Sunday at his home and were questioned for seven hours, as was the case in April with her husband, Peter Murrell, formation executive director from 1999 to March, and former party treasurer, Colin Beattie. The arrest ended without any precautions. Over the last decade, the pair have gained unprecedented control over the SNP engine.. Nothing happens without his consent. The power of the handicapped in education is replicated in the Government of Edinburgh, where they dominate all departments, extending their influence into the public sector and civil society far beyond Holyrood. But now everything has fallen like a house of cards, creating an unprecedented crisis in the independence movement, where the chances of holding a secession plebiscite are now less than remote. A spokesperson for the former Scottish chief minister assured yesterday that Sturgeon himself had come to give the statement and stated that he intended to cooperate in clarifying the facts. “This matter is being investigated by the police,” a party spokesman said. “The SNP has been actively cooperating with the investigation and will continue to do so”he added.

In July 2021 an investigation into SNP’s finances was launched thereafter received seven complaints about donations. The party raised a total of £666,953 between 2017 and 2020 for a new referendum campaign. But the referendum never came. What’s more, the central government has never considered allowing another consultation as it did in 2014 (when 55% of voters voted for continuing to be part of the UK). SNP always promised to allocate the funds for the independence campaign. But strange things started to happen. At the end of 2019, the party has just under £97,000 in the bank and total net assets of around £272,000.

In June 2021, Murrell —then CEO— granted as a “personal contribution”, a loan of over £107,620 to help with “cash flow” issues. As of October 2021, the SNP has returned about half of the money. Murrell said he notified the Election Commission in August last year. However, weeks earlier, Douglas Chapman had resigned as party treasurer, decrying that he had not been provided with the necessary “financial information” to do his job. Despite the controversy, Murrell remains as CEO. At that point, Sturgeon’s power in his party and his popularity in the polls allowed him to weather the storm.

But in March, Murrell eventually tendered his resignation to avoid a vote of no confidence. due to another controversy regarding the last primary, while trying to hide the huge loss in the number of affiliates, over 30,000 in the last two years. From 104,000 to 72,186. Previously, he was involved in another scandal in 2020, when he was accused of making allegedly contradictory statements before a committee of members of the Scottish Parliament which is investigating the handling of the case. Alex Salmond on suspicion of sexual harassment by local government. It was Alex Salmond, a former leader of the SNP, who ensured that Murrell became the party’s chief executive in 1999. He was seen as a convincing figure at the time of the showdown. His role was key in ensuring that the party, then virtually without support, transformed from opposition to a political force with enough weight to gain authorization from the central government to hold an independence referendum agreed with London in 2014.