The first minister demanded the UK government launch an inquiry after it emerged the credit card clearing house E-Clear owed Scotland’s largest airline and tour operator more than £30 million when it collapsed last week for the want of £5m.

And yesterday it emerged that another travel firm run by E-clear’s owner had ceased trading this weekend.

An estimated 3,400 holidaymakers were stranded in Spain, Portugal, Cyprus and Egypt after booking flights with Flyglobespan when the parent group went into administration on Wednesday because of cash flow problems.

Unlike a further 1,100 people who had booked a full package holiday with Globespan, the majority were not covered by a protection scheme operated by the Air Travel Organisers’ Licence (ATOL).

Administrators Pricewaterhouse-Coopers have now revealed that the Cyprus-based company E-Clear, which handled the airline’s credit card bookings, owed it £34m.

The Sunday Herald understands that E-clear had extended the time taken to pass on money from Flyglobespan customers to the parent company from an average of five days to 80 in order to earn higher interest from it.

It also emerged that E-Clear’s chief executive, Elias Elia, had led a consortium which wished to buy a share of Globespan. Mr Elias is also chief executive of Allbury Travel,

which the Civil Aviation Authority confirmed this weekend had ceased operations.

Mr Salmond told BBC Scotland he believed there was a “case for a serious investigation by the UK Government’s Department of Business Regulation”.

He added it needed to look at “the negotiations and the financial structure of Globespan and if indeed money, as is claimed, was being withheld from the company making worse or perhaps even precipitating its cash flow crisis”.

Writing in today’s Sunday Herald, finance secretary John Swinney also called for a detailed probe into the role of E-Clear: “This is money that should have been in Globespan’s account ensuring the company could continue to do business. Instead, this Christmas, thousands of passengers have been left stranded across the world and 550 staff are looking for work.”

Mr Swinney said he had also written to Lord Adonis, the UK transport secretary, arguing for ATOL protection to be extended to flight only bookings.

After Flyglobespan went into administration, E-Clear said it would work with the administrators to “clarify and address the various complexities around the airline’s financial position, so that matters may be resolved as quickly as possible”.

Talks were also held on “a sustainable minimum fund for E-Clear to hold” and possible claims it may face from Flyglobespan customers.