Police are investigating a complaint that more than £1.5m raised for the 2014 independence referendum campaign group Yes Scotland is unaccounted for — a claim made by the same whistleblower whose earlier concerns led to the jailing of former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell.
David Henry, a former SNP branch secretary, told the Sunday Mail that the campaign company’s accounts from 2016 onward showed a zero balance, and that £1.5m recorded earlier appeared to have “just gone”. He is due to meet detectives this week with evidence alleging “anomalies” in the organisation’s finances.
“Police investigate complaint that £1.5m raised by the 2014 independence campaign group Yes Scotland is missing.”
Yes Scotland Ltd was set up by former SNP leader and first minister Alex Salmond to campaign for a Yes vote in the 2014 referendum. The company has not been active since then, and its latest set of dormant accounts, published last year, showed a zero balance.
The SNP said Yes Scotland Ltd was an “entirely separate organisation” from the party. A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We have received a complaint and inquiries are ongoing.”
Henry’s complaint comes months after Murrell was jailed for more than five years for embezzling more than £400,000 from the SNP over five years. His actions were uncovered by Operation Branchform — a police investigation that Henry’s earlier concerns helped trigger.
Scottish Labour’s deputy leader, Dame Jackie Baillie, described the latest allegations as “incredibly serious” and said: “There are still far too many unanswered questions surrounding Peter Murrell’s fraudulent activities and the secrecy of the SNP. John Swinney and the SNP need to stop running scared and come clean about these allegations and back a full financial audit of the accounts.”
Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay said Murrell’s “crimes were enabled by the SNP’s toxic culture of control and aggressive aversion to basic levels of scrutiny”. He added: “But John Swinney’s determination to shut down an independent inquiry shows that they haven’t learned any lessons. That’s why an inquiry is critical and why these latest allegations should be fully investigated by the police.”
An SNP spokesperson said: “The criminal actions of Peter Murrell were uncovered by a complex and extensive police investigation which found the SNP was the victim of embezzlement.”