A SECRETIVE club in Ayrshire caught funnelling £100,000 into Tory party coffers has been fined by the Electoral Commission.

The SNP's Pete Wishart said the "dark money net" was now “closing in on the Tories."

In April 2016, the Irvine Unionist Club transferred the huge sum of money over to the North Ayrshire Conservative and Unionist Association.

Little is known about the club, or where the £100,000 came from.

Their registered address is a cottage in rural Ayrshire.

According to the treasurer of the North Ayrshire Conservatives, Bryan Gossman, the money was transferred because the trust was being wound down, and that most had in fact gone to the “central party in Edinburgh”.

He told the Open Democracy website that he didn’t know the original source of the cash, but believed it had come from the sale of property.

The elections watchdog fined the Irvine Unionist Club just £400 for a “failure to provide notification of gifts to a political party exceeding £25,000, and notification of gifts received by due date”

A spokeswoman from the Electoral Commission explained: “Unincorporated associations, such as the Irvine Unionist Club, must register with the Electoral Commission when they make political contributions of more than £25,000 in a calendar year and must report any relevant gifts that they have received.

"This ensures there is transparency about funding of political campaigning.

"Irvine Unionist Club failed to comply with these rules and the Electoral Commission has fined them £400.”

Wishart claimed the “dark money net” was now “closing in on the Tories as their dodgy and cavalier financial dealings become further exposed and punished.”

He added: “Last week I wrote to the Electoral Commission for an update on my complaint about the transfer of property to the Scottish Unionist Association Trust in flagrant breach of the Commission’s rules on exempt trusts under section 162 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000.

"I hope that the Electoral Commission now make speedy progress with this investigation.

“Some £318,000 of unaccountable money has been swirling about in Conservative coffers supporting a number of candidates and MPs.

"The Conservatives need to start to come clean on where this money comes from and how it was acquired."

Green MSP for the West of Scotland, Ross Greer said: “Now we know the Irvine Unionist Club broke the law, but we’re still waiting for the Tories and their local MSP Jamie Greene to come clean and do some explaining.

“We need to know why they didn’t provide notification of this significant sum, where that money came from and what it was used for. Transparency in political donations is essential in protecting us from a system where rich interests wield influence from behind a veil of secrecy.

“I’m sure the £400 fine will be loose change for the Irvine Unionist Club who were astonishingly able to throw over £25,000 at recent elections.”

A spokesman for the Scottish Tories said: “The Electoral Commission has investigated the donation, and has concluded that the Trust was not exempt in terms of the 2000 Political Parties Act’s reporting requirements.

"The Trustees have accepted that they were at fault in failing to register the donation, and have paid the £400 fine. The Conservative Party was not investigated nor subject to any fine.”

The Commission also published the results of an investigation into Ukip, and found that the Brexiteers had not breached strict rules around donations.

Ukip were up in front on investigators after using money given by the European Parliament to the right wing grouping they're a member of in Strasbourg to poll voters in target seats.

The Electoral Commission dismissed a complaint that said the research would have benefited the party and should have been registered as a donation.

Commenting on the fines, Bob Posner, a director with the Electoral Commission, said: “The reporting requirements are clear, so it is always disappointing when parties and campaigners fail to comply.

"It’s vital that voters are given an opportunity to see accurate and full reportable data on what parties and campaigners spend money on in order to influence them at elections."