Purchases from a high-end cookware brand were among the red flags which alerted police to Peter Murrell’s long-running embezzlement of the SNP’s funds.
Murrell bought a number of items from Le Creuset using the party’s money, including a set of measuring spoons worth £43 and a set of mugs worth £204.
An £85 tea kettle from Le Creuset was also found in the now-famous motorhome which was purchased by Murrell and left at his mother’s house.
Detectives began looking into the SNP’s finances after a series of complaints in 2021, many of which concerned donations to a fund for fighting another Scottish independence referendum.
Operation Branchform, the name for the police and Crown Office investigation, moved beyond these initial complaints and began to look at potential embezzlement in early 2023.
As detectives examined the SNP’s books, they noticed the unusual purchases during periods when the party’s finances were low.
It is understood that the Le Creuset purchases stood out as one of the first retailers where Murrell had been spending the embezzled money, leading to further discoveries by the police.
Last month, Murrell admitted to embezzling £400,310.65 from the SNP between August 2010 and October 2022.
Court papers revealed a lengthy list of items he bought with the embezzled money, including: a space telescope, DVDs, a home library ladder worth more than £900 and a coffee machine worth nearly £3,232.
Two cars and the £124,550 motorhome were also among the purchases.
Murrell’s embezzlement continued after knowledge of the police investigation became public.
Police and prosecutors said they reviewed “extensive” evidence.
The Crown Office said: “Prosecutors considered 516 witness statements and a large volume of documentary and digital material, including data sources containing tens of thousands of files spanning an extended period.
“The SPR (standard prosecution report) contained a single charge of embezzlement, but within that charge there were hundreds of potentially criminal purchases.
“For each purchase, prosecutors required evidence that SNP funds had been used, documentation showing what had been bought, the retailer involved, and accounting material capable of showing how the purchase had been recorded within SNP finances.
“Further work was also required to establish the earliest criminal transactions and the full value of the embezzlement.
“That led prosecutors back beyond the original date range in the police report and ultimately to offending beginning in August 2010.”
Others in the SNP also alerted police to some of the items purchased by Murrell.
It is understood that Murray Foote, who replaced Murrell as chief executive, approached the police investigation with items he wished to make them aware of.
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