Paul Manafort, the onetime chairman of Donald Trump's campaign, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on 12 counts including conspiracy against the US, following an investigation into possible Russian meddling in the 2016 US election.
The charges also include conspiracy to launder money, being an unregistered agent of a foreign principal, making false and misleading statements and failing to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts, a special counsel statement said.
Manafort turned himself in to the FBI late on Monday night (AEST). His associate Rick Gates, who is also facing the same charges, also surrendered.
The pair were charged on Friday (local time) in the District of Columbia in an indictment unsealed after the two men surrendered, the special counsel said.
"The indictment contains 12 counts: conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading FARA statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts," the special counsel statement said.
FARA is an acronym for Foreign Agents Registration Act.
The charges are the first to stem from an investigation led by Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller, who was appointed to look into alleged Russian meddling swayed the election in favour of Mr Trump.
The indictment said Manafort and Gates generated tens of millions of dollars of income from work for Ukrainian political parties and leaders and laundered money through US and foreign entities to hide payments between 2006 and at least 2016.
The two concealed their work and revenue as agents of Ukrainian political parties, it said.
Manafort and Gates will be taken to the federal district courthouse, an FBI spokesman told Reuters.
Lawyers for the pair would not immediately return calls for comment, and the White House has also so far declined to comment on the developments.
Trump calls probe a 'witch hunt'
Manafort, 68, served the Trump campaign from June to August of 2016 before resigning amid reports he may have received millions in illegal payments from a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine.
Mr Mueller has been investigating Manafort's financial and real estate dealings and his prior work for that political group, the Party of Regions, which backed former Ukrainian leader Viktor Yanukovich, sources have told Reuters.
Gates was a long-time business partner of Manafort and has ties to many of the same Russian and Ukrainian oligarchs.
He also served as deputy to Manafort during his brief tenure as Mr Trump's campaign chairman.
Mr Trump has denied any allegations of collusion with the Russians and called the probe "a witch hunt".
The Kremlin also has denied the allegations.
Just before the Manafort report came out, Trump senior adviser Kellyanne Conway insisted any charges would not necessarily implicate Mr Trump or his campaign.
"Whatever happens today with the Mueller investigation, we don't even know that it has anything to do with the campaign," Ms Conway said on Fox.
The Russia investigation has cast a shadow over Mr Trump's nine-month-old presidency and widened the partisan rift between Republicans and Democrats.
US intelligence agencies concluded in January that Russia interfered in the election to try to help Mr Trump defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton by hacking and releasing embarrassing emails and disseminating propaganda via social media to discredit her.
Mr Mueller is also investigating whether Trump campaign officials colluded with the Russian efforts.
Reuters
