Branchform costs rise to £3.4M as Crown spending tops £1M
The criminal investigation into the Scottish National Party's finances has cost nearly £3.5 million, new figures reveal, as prosecutors' spending surpasses the £1 million mark.
Data released by the Crown Office shows its expenditure on Operation Branchform has reached £1,085,995 as of June 16, up from approximately £840,000 reported in February. Combined with Police Scotland's spending of £2,273,587, the total cost of the five-year probe now stands at £3,359,582.
The investigation, launched in July 2021 after Police Scotland received seven complaints about how £666,953 raised since 2017 for a proposed second Scottish independence referendum was allegedly spent, became one of the longest-running fraud investigations in the force's history. Described as the highest-profile scandal of the Scottish devolution era, Operation Branchform spanned nearly four years, covering the tenures of three First Ministers and two Chief Constables.
The probe culminated in the conviction of Peter Murrell, who served as SNP chief executive for more than 20 years from 1999 until his resignation in March 2023. On June 23, 2026, Judge Lord Young sentenced Murrell to five years and three months imprisonment at the High Court in Edinburgh after he pleaded guilty on May 25 to embezzling £400,310.65 from party funds.
Murrell used the stolen money to make hundreds of extravagant purchases over a 12-year period, including a £124,550 motorhome seized from outside his mother's Dunfermline home in April 2023, luxury cars, jewellery, designer homeware and stationery. Lord Young noted that had Murrell been convicted at trial rather than pleading guilty, the sentence would have been seven years.
Investigation costs spark concern
Scottish Conservative finance spokesman Craig Hoy said the substantial costs would have a major impact on justice budgets already strained by years of cuts. The Crown Office expenditure includes £1,066,297 on staffing costs, £19,683 on Crown counsel, and £15 on travel and subsistence. Police Scotland's figures show £2,173,089 in direct costs plus £100,498 in overtime.
The investigation began after the SNP's 2019 accounts revealed the party had only £96,000 in the bank at the end of that year, despite having raised over £660,000 for independence campaigning since 2017. This financial discrepancy sparked alarm among party members and donors, leading to the police complaints.
Concerns about party finances had emerged even before the formal investigation. In May 2021, two senior SNP figures - former treasurer Douglas Chapman MP and prominent MP Joanna Cherry - resigned from the party's National Executive Committee citing lack of transparency over party finances.
The investigation examined Murrell, his now estranged wife and former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, and ex-SNP treasurer Colin Beattie. Sturgeon was arrested and questioned on June 11, 2023, but released the same day. In March 2025, prosecutors confirmed she and Beattie would not face charges.
Complex financial probe defended
In May, temporary Deputy Chief Constable Stuart Houston defended the investigation's duration and cost, describing it as complex and noting that Murrell had been skilled at covering his tracks. Speaking at a Scottish Police Authority board meeting in Glasgow, he said the SNP's accounting system was difficult to unpick and the investigation spanned 12 years of fraudulent activity.
Houston emphasised that the specialist crime division had to thoroughly evidence every item in the indictment to secure the guilty plea. Judge Lord Young, while sentencing, said Murrell had managed to circumvent checks and balances due to his position of authority in the party, though he noted the embezzlement method was not particularly sophisticated.
Against Police Scotland's total budget of £1.6 billion for 2025-26, Operation Branchform represents approximately 0.2 percent of the force's annual resources. Hoy said the costs would have been drastically reduced if Murrell and others had been upfront about the criminal activity from the start.
A Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service spokesman said resources were applied to the investigation in line with its significance, adding that prosecutors take decisions independently, free from political influence or external interference, relying on evidence and the law.
Murrell announced his separation from Sturgeon in January 2025. He resigned as SNP chief executive during the leadership race that followed Sturgeon's resignation as First Minister.
