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Alex Salmond’s widow may reportedly have to sell her family home to pay off the former first minister’s debts. Moira Salmond, 88, could soon be hit with a massive bill to pay off her late husband’s creditors, according to sequestration experts. The couple’s property in Strichen is not an official part of Mr Salmond’s estate. But any trustees appointed to wind up the former first minister’s affairs would be able to pursue Ms Salmond for half the property’s value at the time of his death. If his widow is unable to pay this sum, the 88-year-old would have to sell the B-listed former mill in Aberdeenshire, The Times first reported. This comes after reports suggested Mr Salmond died “virtually penniless” due to large legal bills from fighting sexual misconduct charges against him, and from taking the Scottish Government to court over its handling of the allegations. Lawyers acting on Mr Salmond’s behalf have confirmed they are applying to have a trustee in sequestration appointment. This is equivalent to declaring his estate bankrupt. First thing Monday to Friday, The Steamie newsletter bring you the best political news and analysis Alisdair MacPherson, a commercial law lecturer at Aberdeen University, told The Times: “If Alex was indeed insolvent at the time of his death, then Moira would have personal liability to his creditors in a sequestration of his estate. “Given that the trustee is acting in the interests of the creditors, they will seek to maximise the value of the estate, and it seems highly likely that this will involve seeking payment from Moira. “It would be up to her how she decided to pay the relevant sum. This could involve selling the house, using other assets that she holds or funds from third parties. “The trustee may well consider matters such as her age and health with respect to the terms of payment. But I would be very surprised if it stopped them from seeking payment from her, and this in turn may mean that she has to sell, if she isn’t able to pay using another source.” The Strichen property was purchased by the husband and wife in 2001 for £165,000. On his death, Ms Salmond automatically assumed sole ownership. The liability could be up to the value of Mr Salmond’s share of the property as of October last year. Mr Salmond remortgaged the property to help raise funds for his legal fees. It is believed he spent around £300,000 defending his criminal case. In 2019 he won a civil case against the Scottish Government, which found a civil service investigation had been “tainted with apparent bias”. Mr Salmond was subsequently awarded £500,000, although it is understood most of this went to his legal team and did not cover the cost of bringing the case. In recent weeks, it has also been suggested Mr Salmond rented a £7,000-a-month luxury flat in London, which had access to a cinema, gym, bowling alley and swimming pool, which he shared with fellow Alba members Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh and Chris McEleny. It is understood his RT show, which was suspended following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, paid £30,000 a week. Mr Salmond’s annual pension for serving as first minister between 2007 and 2014 is thought to have been £50,000 a year. He would have been entitled to a state pension and any public sector schemes he paid into during his time as an MP and MSP. The Accountant in Bankruptcy - Scotland's insolvency service - will sign off on the trustee to manage Mr Salmond’s affairs. Their representatives will be able to nominate a private trustee to administer the bankruptcy.
