US: Russian lawyer charged with obstruction of justice

By Umar Farooq

WASHINGTON (AA) - Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, who met with U.S. President Donald Trump's campaign advisers at the Trump Tower, was indicted Tuesday on charges of obstruction of justice.

A federal court in New York City unsealed the indictment against Veselnitskaya, who is not currently in U.S. custody.

She was not charged with any crime related to the meeting in the Trump Tower, but had been found guilty in a separate case, where she filed an "intentionally misleading" document in relation to a money laundering campaign.

According to the indictment, Veselnitskaya submitted a declaration on behalf of the Russian company Prevezon Holdings, saying it had been drafted independently by the Russian government.

However, she hid from the judge that she had helped draft the declaration, and had been working in "secret cooperation with a senior Russian prosecutor."

The U.S. accused Prevezon Holdings of orchestrating a tax fraud scheme, which involved alleged corrupt Russian officials, stealing upwards of $200 million.

Persons involved in the scheme also funneled money into real estate in New York, which the U.S. is seeking to recover.

Veselnitskaya attended the notorious Trump Tower meeting, where Trump's advisers had met with others in June 2016, and discussed damaging intelligence on then-Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

She faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.