The former husband of Nicola Sturgeon stole more than £400,000 from the SNP over 12 years.
Scotland’s First Minister has told of his “horror” at the “colossal breach of trust” carried out by former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, as further details of his £400,000 embezzlement were made public.
John Swinney said Murrell – the ex-husband of former first minister Nicola Sturgeon – had committed a “systematic series of criminal actions”.
The SNP leader told journalists at Holyrood on Tuesday that Murrell’s crimes show “there has not been, in every respect, adequate controls in place”.
Mr Swinney said: “The systems that were in place should not have been able to be abused, but they were.”
However he insisted this issue has now be addressed, setting out various steps the party has taken since he became leader to improve financial governance.
With more details of Murrell’s crimes having emerged in a hearing at the High Court in Edinburgh on Tuesday, Mr Swinney said he wanted to make clear his “dismay at the further information which has been shared”.
He also spoke of his “horror at the contents of the material which has been set out”.
He spoke of the “deceit” of Murrell, 61, including his “falsification of information” and “falsification of invoices”.
The SNP leader said: “It is clear that there has been a colossal breach of trust and a systematic series of criminal actions by Peter Murrell.”
The court has heard Murrell created fake invoices and used “misleading” accounting in a bid to cover his tracks as he embezzled £400,310.65 from his party over a period of 12 years.
His role as chief executive enabled him to make direct transfers of cash from the party’s main bank account.
He also used multiple party “charge cards”, as well as making a number of false expense claims.
Mr Swinney said: “I think what all this demonstrates is an appalling breach of trust and the courts will obviously decide on the further course of action that they take.
“What is obvious is systems were circumvented, there was falsification of invoices, that was deliberately to disguise, there was miscoding of items that were set out.
“These were all steps to deceive. So it’s not about having too much power, it is about abusing the systems that were in place and circumventing the systems that were in place and that is at the very heart of embezzlement.”
