Cops probe claims of 'missing £1.5m' from Indy campaign group with close links to SNP

Police are investigating claims £1.5million went missing from the accounts of the 2014 Yes campaign – an organisation with close links to the SNP . Former Nationalist branch secretary David Henry will meet detectives this week and hand over a dossier of evidence alleging “anomalies” in the books of Yes Scotland Ltd. The Sunday Mail can reveal the company, which ran the official 2014 Yes Scotland referendum campaign , had £1,524,998 in income which it is claimed is unaccounted for. Despite the Yes campaign being separate from the SNP , a party official signed off the books. Henry, one of the original complainers in 2021 who sparked the Operation Branchform probe into SNP finances , said: “I visited Edinburgh’s Gayfield Square Police Station on Thursday to make a complaint of fraud and received an incident number. “I will meet again with officers next week to give a full statement and provide them with documentary evidence related to Yes Scotland Limited’s accounts and other information that I have ­uncovered.” Police Scotland said: “We have received a complaint and inquiries are ongoing.” The probe has sparked renewed calls for John Swinney to order an independent inquiry into the SNP’s murky finances. Henry’s complaint centres on a note in Yes Scotland’s 2014 accounts, published in August 2015, 11 months after the referendum . It stated: “Directors have reviewed the accounting treatment of donations received and these are now recognised as income when received. “This has resulted in deferred income as at April 30, 2013 being reduced from £878,978 to £nil and has increased other income by £878,978 from £1,524,998 to £2,403,976.” Henry alleges this £1.5million is unaccounted for, with no “other income” declared again in subsequent accounts. He said: “The numbers don’t match up anywhere and there are a host of other anomalies identified in my evidence and major corrections appeared in the 2015 accounts. Nothing adds up. The Yes campaign took in millions in donations but from 2016 dormant accounts have been submitted with zero balances; the money is just gone. “Given what we now know about Peter Murrell’s crimes , there are strong reasons to be suspicious of the finances of any organisation linked to the SNP. “Police Scotland must open a new investigation and fully audit Yes Scotland’s books to find out what happened to the missing £1.5million.” The complaint is separate to, and pre-dates, claims that the SNP misappropriated £667,000 of “ring-fenced” cash raised for a future referendum between 2017 and 2019. Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said “These are incredibly serious allegations and it is right that they are considered by the police. "There are still far too many unanswered questions surrounding Peter Murrell’s fraudulent activities and the secrecy of the SNP.” Rachael Hamilton, Tory deputy, said: “These claims further underline the need for an investigation into the whole Murrell scandal, which John Swinney continues to resist.” Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay added: “Peter Murrell’s crimes were enabled by the SNP’s toxic culture of control and aggressive aversion to basic levels of scrutiny. “But John Swinney’s ­determination to shut down an ­independent inquiry shows they haven’t learned any lessons.” Yes Scotland Ltd, a limited private company, was set up by Alex Salmond in 2012 to campaign for independence in the referendum. It was required by electoral law to be a separate legal entity from the SNP. Insiders have complained the cross-party campaign – whose advisory board included Greens and ­Scottish Socialists – was ­dominated by the Nationalists. Murrell’s wife Nicola Sturgeon was given a ­ministerial role overseeing the referendum in Salmond’s Cabinet. In 2023, Scottish Greens co-leader Ross Greer praised Murrell on social media for getting him a 25 per cent pay rise when he worked as a staffer at Yes Scotland. Greer deleted his tweet this year after Murrell’s conviction for embezzling £400,000 from the SNP between 2010 and 2022, claiming this was because Murrell “wasn’t the man I thought he was”. When active Yes Scotland Ltd filed ­unaudited, abbreviated small company accounts. Gordon Millar, a tax and accountancy expert with 40 years’ experience, who has provided written testimony for Henry’s complaint, said: “Although legal, the format was an open ­invitation to fraud in any organisation funded largely by small donations." The only other account of Yes spending is from the ­Electoral Commission, which reported it spent £1.42million on campaigning between May 30 and September 14, 2014. However, this didn’t include staff, general running costs, or campaigning prior to May 30. There is also no concrete figure for total donations. Pro-independence lottery winners Colin and Christine Weir alone gave £3.5million to Yes, and sources suggest the campaign overall could have received £5million to £6million. The ­Electoral ­Commission didn’t require donations of under £500 to be declared. Tens of thousands of Scots are thought to have donated. On Companies House, Yes Scotland Ltd’s registered address is 7/11 Melville Street, Edinburgh – the address for accountants Johnston Carmichael, who resigned as the SNP’s auditors in 2023 over fraud concerns. However the Sunday Mail understands Yes Scotland Ltd has not been a client of Johnston Carmichael since 2018. Yes Scotland Ltd’s latest set of dormant accounts were published last August, showing nothing in the bank as of October 2024, while a basic confirmation statement was published in April this year. Sean Clerkin, the original complainer over the missing ring-fenced money in 2021, said: “I am appalled at what appears to be further evidence of missing money – now from the original 2014 independence referendum. “This has to be investigated by Police Scotland without fear or favour.” The SNP said: “The criminal actions of Peter Murrell were uncovered by a complex and extensive police investigation which found the SNP was the victim of embezzlement.” Yes Scotland said all money was accounted for and there was no wrongdoing. It claimed the £1.5million adjustment in the 2014 books was due to a change in accountants. It added Murrell had no access to Yes Scotland's bank accounts. Get more Daily Record exclusives by signing up for free to Google’s preferred sources. Click HERE