LONDON (Reuters)

Former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was arrested on Sunday (June 11), the BBC and Sky News reported, after Police Scotland said a 52-year-old woman was in custody being questioned as part of its investigation into the Scottish National Party’s (SNP) funding.

The police investigation is looking at what happened to more than £600,000 (US$750,000) raised by Scottish independence campaigners in 2017, which was supposed to have been ring-fenced but may have been used for other purposes.

In April, Sturgeon’s husband, Peter Murrell and the party’s then treasurer were both arrested and then released without charge pending further investigation as part of the same inquiry.

“A 52-year-old woman has today, Sunday 11 June, 2023, been arrested as a suspect in connection with the ongoing investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National Party,” Police Scotland said in a statement on Twitter.

“The woman is in custody and is being questioned by Police Scotland detectives.”

A spokesperson for the SNP could not immediately be reached for comment.

Sturgeon, Scotland’s longest serving leader of its semi-autonomous government, caught the political world by surprise when she announced her resignation in February, saying she had become too divisive to lead her country to independence.