Revealed: Peter Murrell's methods used to embezzle £400,000 of SNP funds
The methods Peter Murrell used to embezzle SNP funds have been revealed in court documents.
We are still no clearer on what motivated Peter Murrell to embezzle more than £400,000 of SNP funds - but his latest appearance in court has shed some light on the methods he used to try to cover up his crimes.
At the heart of the embezzlement appears to have been Murrell having full control of the SNP’s accounts and able to sign off his own expenses.
The agreed narrative, read out in court by Advocate depute Alan Cameron KC, shows that Murrell “had control” of the SNP’s primary bank account and in his role as CEO, he “was able to make direct transfers of money from that bank account”.
Murrell also had a charge card linked to the bank account, in his name.
The narrative states that Murrell “made direct transfers of money and used his party charge card and those of two other staff members to make purchases which were not connected to party business”, adding that “they were for his own use or the use of others”.
The SNP staffers were “unaware” of Murrell using their cards to embezzle funds.
The SNP’s accounting software required purchased items to be recorded under an accounting code which provided a general description of the spending. Murrell had “direct access” to the SNP’s accounting system.
The court heard that for “hundreds” of items that Murrell purchased for his own use or the use of others, “he provided misleading descriptions and/or accounting codes under which the purchases were recorded on the accounting software”.
Murrell was able to use the charge cards to make 383 purchases from Amazon, spending £42,660.74 and 238 purchases from other retailers, spending £139,971.
The agreed narrative, rather starkly, points out that as CEO of the SNP, Murrell “had ultimate approval of all expenses claims submitted, including his own”.
Between January 2019 and September 2020, Murrell made four false expenses claims, receiving a total of £18,408.91 - with false invoices, including one from Apple, created by him for two of the claims “to give the impression that they were for legitimate party expenditure”.
The most high-profile purchases made with embezzled funds by Murrell were for three motor vehicles.
The first of these was a new Volkswagen Golf, purchased in early 2016 for £32,989 - with Murrell using a direct transfer from the SNP account to pay the balance of £16,489.
In September 2019, Murrell traded in the Volkswagen to help fund a deposit for an £81,277 Jaguar i-Pace.
The remaining balance of £57,500 was paid by Murrell in two direct transfers from the SNP account, split because no payment greater than £30,000 could be made from the SNP account in one go.
Murrell created a false invoice in which the name of the car dealer was changed from ‘Pentland Jaguar East’ to ‘Pentland Motor Company Ltd’.
The 61-year-old passed the invoice to the person responsible for adding items to the SNP accounts with a note that it was to be coded under the heading ‘transport’.
Murrell sold the Jaguar in August 2021, receiving the £47,378.76 proceeds into his personal bank account.
To purchase the now infamous Niesmann and Bischoff Smove motorhome, Murrell used his SNP charge card to make three payments totalling £12,500 as a deposit - with the balance of £112,050 paid by four direct transfers from the SNP account in December 2020.
Again, Murrell created a false invoice in the name of the motorhome dealer, with many details removed and the illegitimate paperwork provided to the SNP staffer responsible for adding items to the accounts.
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