Peter Murrell ‘sent Amazon fraud parcels to Nicola Sturgeon’s sister and parents during £81k splurge’
Nicola Sturgeon with parents Robert, 77, and Joan, 73And other purchases are also alleged to have been sent to the address of Ms Sturgeon’s sister, Gillian Owens, 50, in nearby Irvine.
A court document states the items were “for your own personal use or the personal use of others”.
Deliveries are also alleged to have gone to an address in Dunfermline which was the then home of Murrell’s mother, Margaret.
The details are contained in a bombshell indictment which accuses Murrell of embezzling £459,000 from the SNP, as revealed yesterday by The Scottish Sun.
Among those allegations is £81,610 of spending on the Amazon website between August 2, 2010 and January 13, 2023.
It’s alleged the items were “for your own personal use or the personal use of others” before listing deliveries to the three family addresses as well as the home he shared with estranged wife Ms Sturgeon, 55, in Uddingston, and two SNP HQ addresses in Edinburgh.
It claims he used an SNP credit card and, in party accounts, inserted “false or inaccurate” details to “disguise the true nature of said purchases”.
The detail of the alleged items has not been revealed.
Murrell was charged at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last year where he made no plea.
He faces a preliminary hearing at the High Court in Edinburgh after May’s Holyrood election.
The appearance was originally due to happen next week but was ajourned until May 25, weeks after the Scottish Parliament election on May 7.
Prosecutors said “procedural” reasons were behind the move. He was charged in April 2024 after a police investigation into SNP finances codenamed Operation Branchform.
A rap sheet first revealed by The Scottish Sun yesterday claims the embezzlement took place over a 12½-year period between August 12, 2010 and January 13, 2023.
Among the allegations are that Murrell bought a £125,000 motorhome from an English firm and had it shipped almost 300 miles before “storing” it at his mum’s Dunfermline home.
The former SNP chief executive, who split with Nicola Sturgeon last year, is also accused of creating “false” sales documents “in order to portray the purchase as a legitimate party expense”.
The most detailed charge, which runs to 300 words, alleges Murrell used SNP funds to buy a Niesmann and Bischoff Smove 7.4e motorhome vehicle at a cost of £124,550 “for your own personal use” from a dealer in Stafford, Staffs.
It is alleged he initially used £12,500 on a Nats credit card in his name in October 2020. Then on December 7 it is claimed he paid another £112,050 for the vehicle “by transferring said sum from a Scottish National Party bank account” to the seller.
In separate charges, Murrell is alleged to have used £16,489 of the party’s cash towards a £33,000 Volkswagen Golf bought in early 2016 from Western Volkswagen in Newbridge, Edinburgh. It is also claimed he used £57,500 of SNP money to pay for the bulk of an £81,000 Jaguar I-Pace motor in autumn 2019.
Prosecutors also claim Murrell embezzled nearly £160,000 to buy goods for himself “or others” while Sturgeon was first minister.
He allegedly splurged cash with at least 82 retailers, including Argos, Homebase and B&Q, plus luxury brands Harrods and Fortnum and Mason.
Full list of 82 firms where Murrell is said to have spent cash
- Frank Smythson Ltd
- Herring Shoes Ltd
- A Fine of Pair Shoes Ltd
- Church & Co (Footwear) Ltd
- Richemont (UK) Ltd and its subsidiary Montblanc (UK) Ltd
- G. Ettinger Ltd
- Estee Lauder Cosmetics Ltd/Estee Lauder Companies and their subsidiaries MAC Online and Jo Malone
- Dyson Limited
- John Lewis PLC
- Arredatutto SRL
- Utility Design Ltd
- Hamilton & Inches
- Wheelers Luxury Gifts Ltd
- Speciality Drinks Ltd and its subsidiary The Whisky Exchange
- Neville Johnson Ltd
- The Conran Shop Ltd
- Richmond Cookshop
- AO Retail Limited trading as AO.com
- The Royal Mint
- Kato Group and its subsidiary Knives & Tools
- Boots Opticians Professional Services Ltd
- C W Sellors Jura Luxury Watches
- Joseph Joseph Ltd
- B&Q Limited
- Eden Springs UK Ltd
- Jura Products Ltd
- Fortnum and Mason Plc
- Davek Accessories
- QS Supplies
- Expert Electrical Supplies Ltd trading as Downlights.co.uk
- Le Creuset UK Ltd
- Lubkowski Saunders and Associates Ltd trading as LSA International
- Let’s Shop Airbus of Airbus Operations Limited
- Park Cameras Limited
- RE Dawson Ltd
- Wayfair LLC
- Robert Welch Designs Ltd
- Coggles.com
- Welland Cane & Garden Furniture Ltd trading as Midlands Conservatory & Garden Furniture
- Manufactum Ltd
- Norah George Yarns
- Tumi, a subsidiary of Samsonite Limited
- Binopolis Ltd
- Simplehuman (UK) Ltd
- Ligo Electronics Limited
- Isle of Harris Distillers Limited
- Paint DirectLark and Larks Limited
- Peugeot Saveurs
- Touch Bespoke Joinery Ltd trading as Touch of DIY
- Wood by Post Ltd
- Victorinox (UK) Ltd
- SPC MarketingSam Turner & Sons Ltd
- Alex McDougall (Mowers) Ltd
- Caulders
- Shetland Jewellery
- Molton Brown Ltd
- Naken Interiors Ltd
- Ironmongery Direct Ltd
- Helly Hansen (U.K.) Ltd
- PerfectDraft UK Ltd formerly known as Beer Hawk Ltd
- Homebase Ltd
- Argos Ltd
- Lalique UK
- Prime Tools Ltd
- L&Co Group Ltd and its subsidiary Sensio Limited
- Selfridges & Co Ltd
- Leatherman.co.uk imported and distributed by Whitby & Co (UK) Ltd
- Instadecor Ltd trading as Getpotted.com trading on http://www.lechuza.co.uk
- Amara Living Ltd, a subsidiary of Frasers Group Plc
- Make an Entrance Ltd trading as Coir Mats
- Toolshack UK Ltd
- A.Fulton Company Limited
- Fiskars UK Ltd and its subsidiary Waterford
- Made in Design SAS
- W Gadsby & Son Ltd
- The Folio Society Ltd
- Vertu Motors Plc and its subsidiary All Car Parts Limited
- EV Cable Shop Ltd
- Harrods Ltd
- Imperial Yard Ltd trading as Yard O-Led
Other retailers listed include jewellery, drinks and footwear businesses. High-end pens firms Montblanc and Yard-O-Led are also named in the sixth of eight charges, as well as The Royal Mint, which sells gold coins and bars.
Sturgeon announced in January last year that she and Murrell had “decided to end” their marriage.
The former First Minister said the decision had been made “with a heavy heart”.
Joan Sturgeon is a retired SNP councillor for North Ayrshire, previously representing the Irvine East Ward and serving as the area’s provost.
Gillian Owens is the younger sister of Nicola.
It’s a strange old business altogether.
When you look at how the Epstein syndicate circle had agents, and I believe I use the word agents correctly, with tentacles into the highest levels such as Prince Andrew, or Peter Mandelson, you wonder who may have had tentacles into other political organisations.
The lure of drugs, or sex or money is a tool to hook people and used to control or destroy thereafter
It’s been done time after time. It’s the way things are done. And now, rightly or wrongly, after many years in abeyance the confirmation of trial emerges just before the Scoottish Parliament elections whilst the Epstein scandal documrnt dump comes just before council elections in England
It’s a strange old world,where one wonders if Joe Voter is being played.