National bankers secrecy outrage
State investment bosses accused after refusing to turn up for MSPs’ grilling
Senior management of Scotland’s National Investment Bank are at the centre of a transparency row after failing to appear before a committee of MSPs.
Holyrood’s Net Zero committee requested the SNIB’s leadership attend parliament earlier this month for a grilling.
But the bank – led by acting CEO Sarah Roughead – decl ined the invitation and said it would provide a written submission, the Sunday Mail has learned.
The bank was set up by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and will be handed £ 2billion of taxpayers’ cash over the next decade.
But it has already been criticised over transparency after ex- CEO Eilidh Mactaggart quit for “personal reasons” in January.
She announced she was stepping down after we highlighted the fact £ 50million of taxpayers’ cash was handed to a firm with tax haven links.
It emerged Mactaggart had received £117,500 – half her annual salary – when she left her post immediately rather than working her notice.
Jamie Halcro Johnston, Scottish Conservatives’ shadow minister for business, trade, tourism and enterprise, said: “It seems extraordinary senior management at the Scottish National Investment Bankank should decline a request to appearpear before Holy-Holyrood’s Net Zeroro committee.
“It must bee accountable for the publicc money it is supposed to be using for the public’s benefit.enefit.
“We are alreadyady well used to the high- handed and obsessively secretive approach of the SNP in government. Itt would be worrying if this was now beingng adopted byy those publ icc bodies that repor t to SNP ministers too.” Scot t ish Libera l Democrat s spokesman for finance John Ferry said: “A Already a think tank report has called the SNIB ‘rather unfocused and ill- conceived’.conceive The bank’s chief exec al also mysteriously quit less than th two years into the role, rol receiving an exit paymepayment of £117,500 instead of working her notice. notic No explanation has been given. “The SNIB is gaining ga a growing in reputation for fo secrecy and subterfuge. The Scottish Government need to put transparency and openness first but this doesn’t seem a priority.”
The SNIB invests in private firms with the aim of accelerating Scotland’s transition to a low-carbon economy.
A spokesman denied the bank refused to appear before MSPs but accepted they had been asked and agreed to respond in writing.
He said: “The bank remains keen to be an ongoing contributor to discussions relating to Net Zero, its missions and the wider Scottish economy, and continue to contribute to and support the committee’s aims – including in future meetings.”