Nicola Sturgeon Released Without Charges After Arrest Over Financial Inquiry

(Photo : Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
Former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has been released without charges following an arrest in relation to a financial misconduct probe into the Scottish National Party (SNP).

Former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was released without charges after being arrested
The incident about an investigation into financial misconduct issued by the Scottish National Party (SNP)
Sturgeon's husband, Peter Murrell, the former chief executive of SNP, was also arrested in April

Former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was released without charges after being arrested in a financial misconduct investigation.

The official was taken into official custody on Sunday as part of the probe issued by the Scottish National Party (SNP). In a statement, Police Scotland said that the 52-year-old woman they arrested was released without charge pending further investigation.

Nicola Sturgeon Arrested and Released

The former first minister is a suspect in connection with the probe into the funding and finances of the SNP. A spokeswoman for Sturgeon previously confirmed that she was arrested and said that she was consistently noted that she was willing to cooperate with the investigation if she was asked.

In April, Sturgeon's husband and former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell was also taken into custody and released. The group's treasurer, Colin Beattie, was the next one to be arrested, as per CNN.

The former first minister abruptly announced her resignation in February following a nine-year run where she became the figurehead of the movement for the country's independence from the United Kingdom.

Sturgeon cited that her reason for stepping down was that the demands of public life and the "brutality" of frontline politics had become too much for her to handle. However, since her resignation, the SNP has become chaotic over a widely publicized investigation.

Officers have been looking into the SNP's handling of funds slated for Scottish independence campaigning; the party has dominated the country's politics north of the border for more than a decade and has continued to push for a 2014 referendum on independence.

Financial Misconduct Investigation

Following the incident, Sturgeon posted on Twitter that she was distressed and surprised to find herself in that situation. According to the New York Times, the former first minister added that innocence is not simply a presumption that she is entitled in law, arguing that she is innocent beyond doubt.

Sturgeon's resignation came as the prospect of a new vote over the breaking away of the country from the United Kingdom had already receded. However, the latest investigation has become a significant setback to the SNP.

Recent polls have shown that the Scottish public is now broadly split on the issue despite the majority backing the party's previous agenda.

SNP MP Angus MacNeil was among those who decided to join the opposition and called for the former first minister to be suspended from the party. They argue that "this soap opera has gone far enough."

Law enforcement personnel raided Sturgeon's home as well as the SNP's headquarters that is located in Edinburgh on April 5. Police officers also seized a luxury motorhome with a monetary worth of roughly $138,000 found outside Murrell's mother's home in Dunfermline, said BBC.