Former Scotland First Minister Nicola Sturgeon arrested in party funding scandal

London, June 11

Scotland's former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was on Sunday arrested in connection with the ongoing investigation into the funding and finances of her Scottish National Party, reports said.

A 52-year-old woman was taken into custody as a suspect and is being questioned by detectives, police said, the BBC reported.

In April, officers searched the house of Sturgeon - the first woman to hold the top Scotland post, and also its longest occupant - and the party's headquarters in Edinburgh.

They also arrested her husband and former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell but later released him without charge.

Almost two weeks later, SNP treasurer Colin Beattie was arrested but also released without charge.

Both Murrell and Beattie were both treated as suspects and were taken into custody for the legally defined period of up to 12 hours of questioning before being released pending further inquiries.

Under the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016, police can release a suspect for further investigation, but they can be re-arrested at a later date, the BBC reported.

Sturgeon, who served as Scotland's first minister for eight years, announced her shock resignation on February 15.

However, within a month of her last day on March 29, the investigation into the SNP's finances - which began almost two years ago - came to the fore. Complaints had been made relating to more than 600,000 pounds donated by activists after the party sought to raise funds for a future referendum campaign, and police launched an operation to examine what happened to it.

--IANS