'I'm the man with the money,' Murrell told Shetland jeweller

A significant story is unfolding on the international scene. 'I'm the man with the money,' Murrell told Shetland jeweller39 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleJohn JohnstonBBC Scotland ShetlandGetty ImagesNicola Sturgeon was photographed wearing the necklace on several occasions. Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleIona YoungBBC ScotlandWhen Nicola Sturgeon visited a jeweller's shop in Shetland in 2019, her husband told its owner he was "the man with the money". At the time Peter Murrell was the chief executive of the SNP, while his wife was party leader and Scotland's first minister.

During the trip to Shetland Jewellery as part of a by-election campaign, he bought her a 9ct gold pendant depicting the Northern Lights. Seven years later that necklace is one of hundreds of items Murrell has admitted purchasing using cash he embezzled from the SNP. Former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell’s £400,000 embezzlement was ‘betrayal’ – SwinneyThe painstaking work to uncover Peter Murrell's crimesThe questions raised by the Peter Murrell embezzlement controversyAt the High Court in Edinburgh the 61-year-old admitted embezzling more than £400,000 from the party between August 2010 and October 2022.

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He pleaded guilty to illicitly purchasing items including luxury goods, jewellery, cosmetics, two cars and a motorhome. Sturgeon said she had been "deceived and let down by a husband she loved and trusted". She added that she had "no reason to doubt" that he was spending his own money as they earned high salaries, rarely socialised or went on holidays.

PA MediaMurrell browsed jewellery while Sturgeon was in the workshopKenneth Rae, the owner of Shetland Jewellery, told Scotland News that he was in the store during Murrell's visit on 28 July 2019. "They came in and then Peter Murrell said, while his wife was in the workshop area, 'I'm the man with the money. I need to buy something'.

"Rae said Murrell browsed through their stock and bought a pendant called the Mirrie Dancer Drongs. It shows the sea stacks off the coast of Hillswick, with the "mirrie dancer" Northern Lights illuminating the sky above. "We were happy he wanted to buy something...

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as far as I can remember it was about £850," he added. It was listed in court documents next to a figure of £425. Rae remembered Murrell calling himself "the man with the money"Sturgeon was seen wearing the pendant necklace on several occasions that summer and in the chamber of the Scottish Parliament.

"Nicola did wear that pendant quite often and you can see it on television and we're very popular of the fact that she was wearing a bit of Shetland Jewellery," he said. Several years later Police Scotland flew officers to Shetland to take a statement as part of their investigation into allegations of embezzlement of SNP funds. "We were surprised to hear that two policemen were coming up to Shetland to interview us specially about our sale of a gold pendant to Peter Murrell," Rae said.

The story has become one of the most prominent items on the global agenda.