Murrell, the estranged husband of former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, was chief executive of the SNP for 22 years.
He has been charged with embezzling £459,000 from the party between August 2010 and January 2023.
Details of a charge against him – including the illicit purchase of luxury goods, two cars and a motorhome, using party funds – were contained in an indictment seen by BBC News ahead of a preliminary hearing.
That hearing was due to take place on 20 February at the High Court in Glasgow, but it has now been pushed back to 25 May in Edinburgh.
The Times newspaper has since reported, external that the application was made by Murrell’s defence.
At Holyrood, former Tory leader Douglas Ross questioned whether anyone working for the government had been involved in discussions about the hearing being postponed.
Graeme Dey replied that there had been “no discussions” and that scheduling was a matter for the independent courts and judiciary.