[Politics] Colin Beattie: Police arrest SNP treasurer in finance probe

[NANO]

SNP treasurer Colin Beattie has been arrested by police investigating the party's finances.

Mr Beattie, 71, has been taken into custody and is being questioned by Police Scotland detectives.A spokesman for the force said the arrest was made in connection with the ongoing investigation into the funding and finances of the SNP.He said a report will be sent to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.Mr Beattie is the MSP for the Midlothian North and Musselburgh constituency.He served as the SNP's treasurer for 16 years before being defeated in an internal election by Douglas Chapman in 2020, but returned to the role when Mr Chapman resigned a year later.Mr Chapman quit after saying he had "not received the support or financial information" that was needed to carry out his duties as treasurer.It comes two weeks after Peter Murrell, the SNP's former chief executive who is married to Nicola Sturgeon, was also arrested by officers who searched his home in Glasgow and the party's headquarters in Edinburgh.A luxury motorhome was also seized by officers from outside a property in Dunfermline.The Mail on Sunday reported that the vehicle had been parked outside the home of Peter Murrell's 92-year-old mother since January 2021.Mr Murrell was later released without charge pending further investigation.Police Scotland launched a formal investigation into the SNP's finances in July 2021 after receiving complaints about how donations were used.The SNP raised a total of £666,953 through referendum-related appeals between 2017 and 2020. The party pledged to spend these funds on the independence campaign.Questions were raised after its accounts showed it had just under £97,000 in the bank at the end of 2019, and total net assets of about £272,000.Last year it emerged Mr Murrell gave a loan of more than £100,000 to the SNP to help it out with a "cash flow" issue after the last election.The SNP had repaid about half of the money by October of that year.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-65309791