Police Scotland’s chief constable: SNP finance probe heading to prosecutors ‘within weeks’

Published

10 months ago

May 13, 2024

admin

The police investigation involving Nicola Sturgeon’s husband is “moving on” with prosecutors to receive a file within weeks, Scotland’s most senior officer has told Sky News.

The former first minister and SNP leader’s spouse, Peter Murrell, has been charged in connection with embezzlement of party funds.

In her first interviews since taking on the UK’s second biggest police force, Chief Constable Jo Farrell insisted her officers are “objective” but refused to be drawn on whether the long-running probe will end imminently.

The investigation, dubbed Operation Branchform, was launched in July 2021 after officers received complaints about how SNP donations were used.

There were questions about more than £660,000 raised for a second Scottish independence referendum campaign.

Police Scotland has said Nicola Sturgeon remains under investigation after she was arrested and released without charge in 2023.

The SNP’s former treasurer, Colin Beattie, was also detained for almost 12 hours for questioning in spring last year.

The 72-year-old has told Sky News he had heard “nothing at all” from police recently.

Murrell, 59, was chief executive of the SNP for two decades.

He quit the role weeks before his arrest and resigned his SNP membership in the wake of his police charge.

The probe has involved detectives seizing a £100,000 motorhome from outside the home of one of Murrell’s elderly relatives.

Officers concluded in April there is sufficient evidence to charge Murrell in connection with embezzlement of party funds.

The next stage is for Scotland’s prosecution service, the Crown Office, to receive a report on the case from police and decide whether to proceed to court.

A Crown Office spokesman said: “All (of) Scotland’s prosecutors act independently of political interference.

“As is routine, to protect the integrity of ongoing investigations, we do not comment in detail on their conduct.”

Chief Con Farrell was questioned by Sky News about why the investigation was taking so long to conclude.

She said: “It’s a live investigation, complex investigation and the matter has been progressed, and we expect the report to go to the Crown Office in a matter of weeks.”

Asked about this probe continuing in a general election year, she said: “We’ve investigated allegations. That’s moving on.

“We have very skilled, professional, objective individuals working on that case.”

The senior officer refused to say when the SNP probe would be fully concluded or whether other individuals would face further questions.

“I’m not going to make a commentary on the length of it. One person’s been charged, the report will go to the Crown Office and it’s a live investigation,” she said.

Ms Sturgeon unexpectedly announced her resignation as SNP leader and first minister of Scotland months before police arrested her and her husband.

She has always insisted the probe never played any part in her sudden departure from office.

Politics

Sacks and his VC firm sold over $200M in crypto and stocks before WH role

Published

2 hours ago

March 15, 2025

admin

Sacks and his VC firm sold over 0M in crypto and stocks before WH role

David Sacks and his venture capital firm sold over $200 million in crypto and crypto-related stocks before he commenced his role as the White House AI and crypto czar, a White House memorandum disclosed.

“You and Craft Ventures have divested over $200 million of positions related to the digital asset industry, of which $85 million is directly attributable to you,” said the memorandum dated March 5.

Crypto sell-off in an effort to prevent conflict of interest

The memorandum said “significant steps” were taken to reduce potential conflicts of interest before Sacks began his tenure as the White House AI and crypto czar — in which a major part of his role is to help create a legal framework for the crypto industry.

Sacks offloaded all the “liquid cryptocurrency” in his portfolio, as well as Craft Ventures’ portfolio — the investment firm he co-founded in 2017 — including holdings in Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and Solana (SOL) before US President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20.

United States, Donald Trump — *The memorandum outlined which cryptocurrencies and crypto-related stocks David Sacks sold prior to Trump’s inauguration. Source:* *The White House*

Since Trump’s inauguration, the crypto market has seen a major decline amid a broader market downturn, with many blaming Trump’s proposed tariffs and uncertainty over US interest rates.

While Bitcoin tapped a new all-time high of $109,000 just hours before Trump was sworn in as the 47th US president, it recently dipped below $80,000 on Feb. 27, erasing all post-election gains. At the time of publication, Bitcoin is trading at $84,155, as per CoinMarketCap data.

Sacks also divested from publicly traded crypto-related firms, including Coinbase (COIN), Robinhood (HOOD), and stakes in private digital asset companies.

Additionally, he sold his limited partner interest in Solana-focused Multichain Capital and crypto-focused venture capital firm Blockchain Capital. At the same time, Craft Ventures offloaded its holdings in Multichain Capital and Bitwise Asset Management.

Sen. Warren urged Sacks to prove he no longer holds crypto

The memorandum is dated one day before Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren urged Sacks in a March 6 letter to prove he no longer holds any digital assets, following Sacks’ claim in an X post that he sold off all his crypto.

“Despite your public statements via X, it remains unclear exactly when you personally divested from BTC, ETH, and SOL, when Craft Ventures divested from Bitwise, and whether people close to you ‘may have held positions and sold into the recent price surge,” Warren said.

Since Sacks started the White House crypto role, he has been a vocal advocate on various issues in the crypto industry, from the importance of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve to not over-taxing the crypto industry.

Sacks recently shut down the idea of crypto transaction taxes on an episode of the All In Podcast after host Jason Calacanis proposed charging a 0.01% tax on every cryptocurrency transaction.

“That’s always how taxes start. They are described as being very modest,” Sacks said.

“You know, when the income tax started, it only applied to like a thousand Americans, and the legislators swore up and down that it would never be applied to middle-class people,” Sacks added.

Magazine: Crypto fans are obsessed with longevity and biohacking: Here’s why

Politics

Starmer to host virtual meeting of ‘coalition of the willing’ – and demand ‘concrete commitments’ on Ukraine

Published

4 hours ago

March 15, 2025

admin

Starmer to host virtual meeting of 'coalition of the willing' - and demand 'concrete commitments' on Ukraine

Sir Keir Starmer will host a virtual meeting of world leaders to discuss peacekeeping in Ukraine, and he will use the call to say that now is the time for “concrete commitments”, Downing Street has said.

Around 25 leaders are expected to join the call on Saturday morning, in which they will discuss in more detail the peacekeeping mission the prime minister has called the ‘coalition of the willing’.

Sir Keir will ask allies to continue to ramp up military support to Ukraine.

He will also say countries need to increase economic pressure on Russia in the short term, and be prepared to support an eventual peace deal over the long term, should an agreement be reached.

👉 Listen to Sky News Daily on your podcast app 👈

Attendees will also receive an update on the discussions of defence ministers and military chiefs in Paris this week, and they will all set out details of their own efforts to unlock further military support for Ukraine.

Downing Street has confirmed that some European countries, the EU Commission, NATO, Canada, Ukraine, Australia and New Zealand are expected to join the virtual meeting.

Starmer: The world needs to see action

In a statement ahead of the call, the prime minister said: “We can’t allow President Putin to play games with President Trump’s deal.

“The Kremlin’s complete disregard for President Trump’s ceasefire proposal only serves to demonstrate that Putin is not serious about peace.

“If Russia finally comes to the table, then we must be ready to monitor a ceasefire to ensure it is a serious and enduring peace, if they don’t, then we need to strain every sinew to ramp up economic pressure on Russia to secure an end to this war.”

He went on to accuse the Russian president of “trying to delay” by “saying there must be a painstaking study before a ceasefire can take place”.

“The world needs to see action, not a study or empty words and pointless conditions,” he continued.

“My message to the Kremlin could not be clearer: stop the barbaric attacks on Ukraine, once and for all, and agree to a ceasefire now. Until then, we will keep working around the clock to deliver peace.”

Sir Keir has said Britain could send peacekeepers to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire deal, but has called on Washington to offer a security ‘backstop’ to those forces.

Russia casts doubt on potential ceasefire

The meeting comes after Ukraine backed the US’s proposal for a 30-day ceasefire.

But the Russian president has said “lots of questions” remain over that proposal, and that a ceasefire must lead to “long-term peace” which “would remove the initial reasons for the crisis”.

Moscow has reportedly also presented a “list of demands” to the US to end the war, which would include international recognition of Russia’s claim to Crimea and four Ukrainian provinces and an agreement that foreign troops not be deployed in Ukraine.

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Mr Putin’s remarks were “very predictable” and “very manipulative”, adding that the Russian president was preparing to reject the ceasefire proposal he agreed with the US.

Politics

UK authorizes charges against NCA officer for alleged Bitcoin theft

Published

7 hours ago

March 14, 2025

admin

UK authorizes charges against NCA officer for alleged Bitcoin theft

The agency responsible for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales announced that a National Crime Agency (NCA) officer was due to be charged with the alleged theft of Bitcoin worth roughly $75,000 in 2017.

In a March 14 notice, the Crown Prosecution Service said it had authorized the Merseyside Police to charge NCA officer Paul Chowles with 15 offenses related to the alleged Bitcoin (BTC) theft “during an investigation into online organized crime.” Authorities said Chowles could face one count of theft, 11 charges for concealing, disguising, or converting criminal property and three counts for acquiring, using or possessing criminal property.

The 50 Bitcoin, worth roughly $75,000 before the December 2017 bull run, was valued at more than $4.2 million at the time of publication at a BTC price of $84,541. The NCA officer is expected to appear at the Liverpool Magistrates’ Court on April 25.

In April 2024, amendments to the UK’s Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act authorized NCA officers and local police to seize crypto from suspected criminals without arresting them. The Crown Prosecution Service did not mention how Chowles allegedly stole the Bitcoin or whether the funds were connected to illicit activities.

Crypto policies across the pond

The NCA said in December 2024 that it had seized roughly $26 million in cash and crypto and arrested 84 people as part of a global campaign to fight money laundering and organized crime. Some of the crypto addresses targeted by UK authorities at the time “showed regular exposure to Garantex.” The founder of the Russian crypto exchange was arrested in India in March and is expected to be extradited to the US to face criminal charges.

The UK government is expected to move forward on creating a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets in 2025 following the Labour government’s election victory. The country remains a significant market for crypto users, with Coinbase securing approval to operate from the financial regulatory body in February.

Magazine: Crypto fans are obsessed with longevity and biohacking: Here’s why