Accounts Filed With the Electoral Commission Show the Niesmann and Bischoff Vehicle's Value Was Removed From the Party's Books

The SNP has written off the value of a luxury motorhome bought for £124,550 by former chief executive Peter Murrell, who admitted embezzling £400,000 from the party earlier this year. Accounts filed with the Electoral Commission show the Niesmann and Bischoff vehicle's value was removed from the party's books. The balance sheet for 2025 also revealed Murrell is still owed £60,000 from a 2021 loan, and that SNP membership fell below 51,000, down about 5,000 from the previous year.

First Minister John Swinney said the accounts showed the party in a position of "formidable financial strength, with about £1.7m of income coming from membership fees. Independent auditors flagged a "heightened risk of fraud" regarding manual journal entries and related party transactions. The party posted a cash surplus of £509,903, a sharp turnaround from a near £400,000 deficit the prior year, though the figures exclude the run-up to the May Holyrood election.

The motorhome, bought in late 2020, was initially described as a campaigning tool but was driven from Rosyth, Fife, to the home of Murrell's mother in Dunfermline, where it stayed until seized by police. Its value dropped from £100,790 on 1 January 2024 to £41,284 by 31 December. Murrell's estranged wife, Nicola Sturgeon, has insisted she was unaware of the vehicle; she was arrested during Operation Branchform but later told she would not face charges.

The party said Murrell has not formally requested repayment of the £60,000 loan, and it will seek to recover the full embezzled amount at a proceeds of crime hearing next month. Swinney said on X that the surplus allowed a well-resourced campaign contributing to an "historic election victory. Scottish Conservatives' finance spokesman Craig Hoy called the accounts astonishing, noting the party still technically owes Murrell £60,000 and that auditors highlighted a heightened fraud risk.