Nicola Sturgeon’s husband made undeclared loans worth £15,000 to the SNP which could now result in the party being fined, it has emerged.

Peter Murrell made two loans of £7,500 each to the SNP in 2018, the first starting on March 22 and the second on April 25, both of which were repaid within days.

The loans were separate from the £107,620 Mr Murrell loaned the party in June 2021 ostensibly to help with “cash flow”, of which £60,000 is still outstanding.

The Scottish Daily Express reported the Electoral Commission had now updated its website to include the two 2018 loans.

Mr Murrell resigned as SNP chief executive after 20 years in 2023 after SNP HQ misled the media about the party’s slump in membership. 

He was later arrested by police officers as part of Operation Branchform, the long-running investigation into the SNP’s finances.

Former SNP treasurer Colin Beattie and Ms Sturgeon, the former First Minister, were also arrested and questioned as part of the same probe last year.

All three were released without charge.

Loans to a party which aggregate to more than £7,500 in the calendar year must be declared promptly to the Commission, but the SNP failed to do so until 2023, five years late.

However the elections watchdog said it would only consider the matter after the conclusion of the ongoing police investigation.

Possible enforcement action could include a fine set by the Commission.

A spokeswoman for the Electoral Commission said: “In the third quarter of 2023, the Scottish National Party reported to us two loans that Peter Murrell entered into in 2018, which should have been reported in Q2 of 2018.

“We have consulted with Police Scotland as to whether publishing this information would affect the ongoing investigation into the party’s finances.

“Police Scotland have confirmed that publishing it will not have any adverse impact on their investigation, which is why it has been added to our database.

“We may consider the late reporting in line with our enforcement policy if appropriate once the police investigation has concluded.”

An SNP spokeswoman said: “Two short-term loans of £7,500 were made in March and April 2018, and each was repaid after a few days.

“While individual loans of £7,500 do not require reporting, we accept that as both loans were in the same calendar year, they should have been reported and that is what we did.”