Nicola Sturgeons ex admits embezzling £400k

[Viviennemary]

Just read this in the DM. I'm a bit shocked tbh. It's a lot of money. I wonder what he spent it on. There was a camper van mentioned ages ago but they don't cost that much. Honestly these folk.

Whilst I do not believe she had a hand in Murrels thievery. She is definately guilty of being a shit leader of my country

It’s because he’s getting the jail, will be backdated to today

Why don't you think that the leader and someone living in the same house knew about it?

The total amount was £459,000
£124,550 was spent on a brand new camper van and the rest went on cars, jewellery and cosmetics.

There’s no way Nicola Sturgeon didn’t know what was going on. She must honestly think everyone is stupid.

@Ophir Exoecting a custodial sentence is not normally enough on its own. There are usually other reasons AND the likely sentence. So says the Sentencing Council.

£400k. The original charge was reduced by £60k. Still significant, obviously, but accuracy is important.

£400k is just 2 years salary for them when NS was FM so not that noticable if he didn't make it obvious. She maybe never saw his £104 pencil sharpener.

The camper van doesn't make sense. If he was passing it off as a legitimate SNP expense, a Battle Bus for the Covid era, then what else could he use it for? He and wee Nicky could hardly have set off on their hols in it if he's saying it's not a private purchase, so what was the point?

None of it really makes sense.

It seems to me more like a kind of compulsive spending habit that got out of control.

Exactly.

And if she was that oblivious that begs some pretty hefty questions about her attention to detail and financial awareness, which is very poor given her job anyway.

Those really are the only two options aren't they.

Neither looks great for a first minister.

It certainly does sound like that.

And all the extra goodies that come with 400G

Was he having affairs and buying extravagant gifts for affair partners & hence hiding everything from his wife?

Rumoured marriage of convenience as both are gay.

If it was just typical everyday household items that everyone buys over the course of 12 years, or even top of the range versions of them, then you could conclude it's just someone seeing an opportunity to profit and exploit a source of revenue they had access to.

It's the particulars of some of the items listed. Computerised Telescopes etc. They aren't everyday household items, and not the sort of thing that someone just purchases on a whim, but they do look a lot like the sort of things I've had to plead with companies to return after someone in the grip of a mania has gone crazy with online shopping. I doubt there is an illness, but the purchases themselves are reminiscent of some sort of disordered thinking or compulsive habit.

Indeed. Quick is none of our business really but it might explain why at least 3 high end bean to cup coffee machines were needed. One for the marital home, one each for their other arrangements. Quite a bit ftom Harrids & Selfridges (not very Scottish of them).
Sb : 'it's none of our business really' & 'Harrids' although 'Horrids' is better. FFS. 'Harrods'. Phew!

And the disordered thinking behaviour is surely something you would know about your partner - and as a result would keep an eye on their spending because you wouldn't want to get into debt!!!

Well, with every single person who has a diagnosis, there was a point in time where they didn't yet have that diagnosis. Also a whole heap of people running around with particular personality quirks that are often present in recognised disorders, but the rest of their behaviours are such that they wouldn't meet the criterion.

It's also not at all the case that everyone has a spouse who is remotely interested in, aware of, or even capable of recognising disordered behaviour or how certain conditions typically manifest. Probably less common now that it was a few decades back, but I have personal experience of being in a long-term intimate relationship with someone who was oblivious, had to have everything spelled out in simple language, and even then didn't "get it". They were far from stupid or thick as well.

Ah, that makes more sense.

There is more to this than meets the eye & I think he has taken the wrap to keep their unusual marriage situation quiet but that NS definitely knew more than she is letting on.

There was another SNP MSP with an embezzlement conviction linked by the BBC today. Reading through the reporting in her case it sounded more like she was completely financially incompetent and chaotic, didn't keep even slightly appropriate records, did not have a clue how to look after the accounts, and then when that inevitably left a gap in the accounts that nobody could reconcile she couldn't defend herself from the accusations of embezzlement - because her record keeping and financial management was so thoroughly hopeless.

It is probably not as black and white as it's being presented. There could be multiple factors in play and he probably pled guilty to reduce his sentence, perhaps knowing that regardless of what he put forward or what his defence was a jury would convict him anyway. People do make that calculation upon legal advice all the time.

It's not rational to think you can buy an illicit campervan and park it outside your mother's house without anyone knowing. That's not exactly criminal mastermind territory.

@compactmotif

There was another SNP MSP with an embezzlement conviction linked by the BBC today. Reading through the reporting in her case it sounded more like she was completely financially incompetent and chaotic, didn't keep even slightly appropriate records, did not have a clue how to look after the accounts, and then when that inevitably left a gap in the accounts that nobody could reconcile she couldn't defend herself from the accusations of embezzlement - because her record keeping and financial management was so thoroughly hopeless

Natalie McGarry?

If so, it's a while back now and that business ran on for years. Multiple trials convictions quashed, retrials and subsequent convictions etc.

My memory of it is that she appeared to be completely incapable of managing her own financial affairs to begin with, so was in no way a fit and proper person to be entrusted with the roles she ended up in. I think she started pulling money from organisation accounts to cover her own expenses, then eventually when it came to paying it back, she had no idea of the amounts involved and basically had to hand herself in to get to the bottom of it. She did take out a loan at some point in an attempt to put it right, but because she hadn't kept any sort of records she still wasn't able to cover it up, and her spending was so profligate that she basically drained the accounts of the organisations concerned, and in trying to make it good with her own money she soon ran into rent arrears etc

Obviously still entirely criminal, but I think it was stupidity that drove her rather than venality. That's how it came across in court anyway because pretty much every witness said the same thing, i.e. she was completely chaotic and that rubbed off on everything she was involved in.

Interestingly there was a journalist on the radio earlier saying that he wasn't a flashy person.

They had separate bank accounts and for a lot of the time were in different places. I also suspect he had another women.

Men

I've only just found out about the both the Jaguar and the Volkswagen Golf.

Taken together, it's quite damning.

https://wingsoverscotland.com/the-final-robbery/#more-157275