Veselnitskaya, a pivotal figure in the investigation into Russian interference in the presidential election, was charged by federal prosecutors in New York with seeking to thwart an earlier Justice Department investigation into money laundering that involved an influential Russian businessman and his investment firm.
The money-laundering case was not directly related to the Trump Tower meeting. But a federal indictment returned in Manhattan seemed to confirm that Veselnitskaya had deep ties to senior Russian government officials and rekindled questions about whether the Kremlin tried to use her as an intermediary to Donald Trump’s campaign.
The charges stem from the Justice Department’s 2013 civil investigation into the role that some of Veselnitskaya’s clients — Prevezon Holdings Ltd. and its owner, Denis P. Katsyv — played in a scheme to launder ill-gotten money through New York real estate purchases.
The Justice Department asked the Russian government to assist its investigation, but the Russians refused, responding with a letter that purported to exonerate Russian officials and Prevezon, the indictment said.
The indictment says Veselnitskaya secretly cooperated with a senior Russian prosecutor in drafting the “intentionally misleading” response, then filed it in federal court in Manhattan.
“In doing so, Veselnitskaya obstructed the civil proceeding,” the indictment said. She is charged with one count of obstruction of justice.
Veselnitskaya, 43, is believed to be in Russia, according to the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York, which moved to unseal the indictment on Tuesday. The office gave no indication that it expected her to be sent to Manhattan to face charges. She declined a request for an interview.
The new indictment again raises questions about whom Veselnitskaya was representing when she met with Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, Paul Manafort and others at Trump Tower in Manhattan.
That meeting is one focus of the special counsel’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the election. It was organized after an intermediary promised that Veselnitskaya would deliver documents that would incriminate Hillary Clinton.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.