A Russian lawyer who became a focal point of the investigation into whether there was collusion between Russians and President Donald Trump’s election campaign has been charged with obstruction of justice in an unrelated case.
Natalya Veselnitskaya was charged in an indictment unsealed today in federal court in New York.
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.
The indictment charges that after the Justice Department asked the Russian government to assist its civil fraud investigation, the Russian government refused, responding with a letter that purported to exonerate Russian officials and the firm’s personnel.
The indictment says Veselnitskaya had secretly cooperated with a senior Russian prosecutor in drafting the “intentionally misleading” Russian response, which was filed 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 United States 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.