Police find no criminality in Yes Scotland campaign finances

Summarised from 3 outlets · Updated 23 Oct, 12:29 · Archive

Police Scotland has concluded its assessment of Yes Scotland's accounts and found no evidence of criminal conduct.

Police Scotland have concluded their assessment of Yes Scotland's finances and found no evidence of criminal conduct. The pro-independence campaign group, which operated during the 2014 referendum and has not been active since, handed over its full accounts to police in July following a complaint made by activist David Henry.

Henry alleged that more than £1.5 million had gone missing from the organisation's accounts. His complaint came following the separate Operation Branchform investigation into SNP finances, which led to the conviction of former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, who was jailed for embezzling over £400,000 from the party. Some campaigners had raised concerns that Murrell may have had access to Yes Scotland's funds.

Police Scotland assessed the information provided and concluded there were no grounds for further investigation. A spokesperson said: 'We received information which was assessed and nothing was identified which would warrant further investigation.' Aamer Anwar, solicitor for former Yes Scotland chief executive Blair Jenkins, said the original claim had been based on a 'very basic misunderstanding of accounts'. He stated that what followed was 'a desperate attempt to link Peter Murrell's criminal conduct to the financial affairs of Yes Scotland Ltd'.

Anwar said Jenkins was grateful to Police Scotland, though sorry they had been forced to use resources on 'spurious and unfounded allegations'. He also said the media had a duty to act responsibly, noting that Jenkins had an 'impeccable reputation'.

How it is being reported

• Yes Scotland £1.5m finance probe ends as Police Scotland 'find no criminality'Police have assessed the accounts of the pro-independence group after a complaint was made earlier this year.Daily Record · 23 Oct, 12:13
• No further police investigation into Yes Scotland financesIn July, a newspaper published claims by an activist that it was not known how income of more than £1.5m had been spent.BBC Scotland · 23 Oct, 12:03
• Police find no criminality in Yes Scotland finances after 'missing £1.5m' claimPOLICE Scotland have found no criminality relating to the accounts of Yes Scotland, after claims of £1.5 million going missing ...The National · 23 Oct, 10:27

In this story: Police Scotland · Yes Scotland · Blair Jenkins · Peter Murrell · David Henry · Aamer Anwar · Scotland

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