Peter Murrell embezzlement trial

[Sunnnyday]

Peter Murrell is in court in Edinburgh today. This is for the preliminary hearing which was postponed from before the election. It will be interesting to see how the criminal proceedings proceed.

www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/peter-murrell-arrives-at-court-ahead-of-hearing-on-embezzlement-charges/ar-AA23Ybuy?ocid=msedgntp&pc

They didn't have children did they? I could afford more than one campervan if I hadn't had children.

I think the police prefer to do their investigation first. I don't know if they can stop them though.

I’m sure the party knows pretty well what’s happened

I’m convinced she was in on the whole thing and is somehow getting away with it. Can’t understand why he’s covering for her!

The police investigation is closed. There's no reason why the SNP can't look into its poor bookkeeping practices.

The plea bargain enables them to draw a veil over all sorts of things that they would rather not look into in public, which might emerge as part of the context for the financial irregularities. The attempt to convict Alex Salmond was allegedly set up by Murrell and others during a period when he was rumoured to be in a relationship with the previous Lord Advocate, James Wolffe, who would have made the decision to prosecute, so you can see why it's to many people's advantage to leave that stone unturned.

I think upp to court other people conducting their own investigations isn't encouraged. Just my experience but I'm in England so might be different. Obviously nothing stopping them now.

Wow 🤯!
pity there is no trial then

It isn't a plea bargain. He pled guilty to what he was charged with.

The whole thing stinks! As IF she had no idea!! I think her resigning when she did was down to these allegations too…. A friend of mine who “knows people” told me about 3 years ago this was trying to be hushed and there had been alleged financial wrong doing… I can imagine that them separating was down to this too. Nobody could think for one second that a woman as switched on as Nicola S would not notice this!!

He must genuinely really love her to take the hit and not bring her down with him.

Well she was also arrested and investigated so it isn't as if he is "saving her", so I do think she probably turned a bit of a blind eye to.what he was up to his conviction isn't anything to do with "love" he was caught and probably just didn't want a trial.

I think it is pretty obvious that the gratitude of those who will benefit from a trial not taking place will be expressed in some convenient way at a later date. Murrell is the fall guy, couldn't be saved - but while he shoulders all the blame then the other NEC signatories to the accounts are apparently off the hook (they should by rights be personally liable).

😁

OK. So if your partner earned £120k pa and bought the following, with no discussion with you, you'd have no issue with any of it at all:

The largest single transaction, in 2020, was £124,550 for a luxury motorhome, paid for entirely with party funds. Murrell was accused of creating false documents to disguise the payment as a legitimate party expense.
His first major purchase, a £33,000 Volkswagen Golf, was made in early 2016 using £16,489 of SNP money.
He used £57,500 of party cash to buy a Jaguar I-PACE car in 2019, and sold it for £47,378.76 two years later.
Murrell also used SNP funds to purchase two Bremont watches for a total of £9,350, a £4,225 Starwalker World Time fountain pen and a £3,500 Hamilton and Inches silver wine coaster.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g4q7yl3kno

More likely that she has more on him.

Omg, the BBC now have an online tool where you can search by 'retail category' to see how he spent the money 😂 But nobody knew a thing 😂 He bought a men's 'slouch pouch' onesie for £76 apparently! Good grief, if I were Peter Murrell I would long since have shrivelled up and spontaneously died of shame.

I just cannot get my head around all this it's so insane! What on earth did he think would happen? Why would someone risk public shame and jail for grubbing money for things like fancy fountain pens and watches when they're already well off? Why would the SNP cover it up all that time instead of just kicking him out - now it implicates all kinds of people? And if it was a lavender marriage as rumoured, why - especially when it sounds like everyone knew anyway? And HOW can NS be pulling this innocent I knew nothing act? It's all like something out of the most ridiculous sitcom or cheesy thriller. (And in fact will make a great film...)

I can't think what more there could be that isn't already public knowledge or heavily rumoured/open secret, that could bring him further shame. It's not like he's got a good name to uphold. But I can see the explanation that there are people who will recompense him eventually for his silence on them.

I’ve no idea about the marriage. But the gist of your post is spot on. How low-rent and shitty is this story? Pens, salt cellars and makeup? He’s like a shabby shoplifter.

The Police Scotland statement says “From 2010 to 2022 he spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on luxury goods while carefully trying to hide his criminality with false receipts and accounting”

So that’s more than just PM and NS ripping off money while they were in the two big jobs.

Alex Salmond was leader in 2010.
Deputy leaders in that period were Nicola Sturgeon, Stewart Hosie, Angus Robertson and Keith brown (who is still currently the deputy).
multiple people would have been on the finance and audit committee.

Murrell isn’t simply being the fall guy for Nicola sturgeon - imo he’s protecting multiple people. There’s no chance none of those people didn’t have any idea he was raising the coffers.

I wonder if it was a thrill thing. He tried it once, got away with it and then kept going. Behaviour like that can give a person a feeling of excitement.

These politicians don't feel shame, though. That's their superpower - no shame, no sense of responsibility, just endless entitlement.

It'll be about money.

I think there must have been an element of this. It's just too baffling otherwise. People can be very strange though. It is quite gruesomely fascinating.