Yes Scotland Ltd, the organization established by former SNP leader Alex Salmond to advocate for Scottish independence, has voluntarily submitted its accounts to Police Scotland. The action follows a complaint alleging that approximately £1.5 million is unaccounted for.
Aamer Anwar, a representative for Yes Scotland, stated on July 13 that the full sets of accounts for 2013, 2014, and 2015 were provided to the police. He clarified that there is "no 'missing' £1.5m," and suggested that the sum in question represents campaign spending rather than a deficit.
Yes Scotland has maintained that all its funds have been accounted for. The group has been inactive since the 2014 independence referendum. Its most recent dormant accounts, published last year, showed a zero balance. The group has previously directed inquiries about its finances to the audited referendum returns, which are publicly available through the Electoral Commission.
Official figures from the Electoral Commission indicate that Yes Scotland received donations exceeding £2.6 million and incurred expenditures of over £1.4 million during the referendum campaign. In comparison, the pro-union Better Together campaign reported receiving nearly £3.7 million and spending more than £1.4 million.
The Scottish National Party (SNP) has emphasized that Yes Scotland Ltd operated as a separate entity from the party itself. This development comes in the wake of former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell being sentenced to over five years in prison for admitting to embezzling more than £400,000 from the party over a five-year period. Murrell's actions were investigated by Police Scotland and the Crown Office under Operation Branchform.