Pras Michel and Financial Defenders accused of being guilty of an illegal plan to raise funds for Obama

One of the founding members of hip-hop group Fugees and a fugitive Malay financier have been charged with conspiracy to violate the federal law on campaign financing by injecting millions of dollars of foreign money into the presidential election of 2012, announced Friday the Department of Justice.

A charge to four counts accuses the financier, Low Taek Jho, of having transferred over $ 21 million overseas to rapper Prakazrel Michel, known as Pras, of June 2012 to November. Prosecutors maintain that Mr. Michel then paid $ 865,000 of this money to a network of straw donors who used it to make campaign contributions to a candidate nominated as candidate A.

Although the indictment released on Friday does not specifically name the candidate in question – who is not accused of anything wrong – he clearly refers to the former president. Barack Obama. The indictment alludes to the fact that candidate A would have a presidential administration and would organize at the White House an event at which Mr. Low would have "attended or organized the participation of his collaborators."

A spokesman for Mr. Obama did not respond to a message asking for comments on Friday.

The indictment is added to Mr. Low's list of legal problems, also known as Jho Low. In the United States and Malaysia, law enforcement forces have been looking for his alleged role in the $ 4.5 billion robbery of a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund. This case contributed to the electoral defeat and the indictment of the country's former prime minister, Najib Razak.

Michel and Low were charged with offenses under the campaign finance and conspiracy law to defraud the US government. Mr. Michel was also charged with concealing material facts and lying in the conspiracy.

Mr. Michel pleaded not guilty Friday before trial judge G. Michael Harvey of the District Court of the United States for the District of Columbia, said his lawyer, Barry J. Pollack. He was not arrested.

"Mr. Michel is extremely disappointed that so many years after the government laid charges on contributions to the 2012 election campaign," Pollack said. Michel is innocent of these accusations and is anxiously waiting for the case to be heard by a jury. "

The Department of Justice said Friday that Low was still on the run. A spokeswoman for Mr. Low, who declined to provide his whereabouts information, denied the charges filed on Friday.

"The charges against Mr. Low are unfounded," the spokeswoman said in a statement. "Mr. Low has never made campaign contributions directly or indirectly to the United States and he unequivocally denies any involvement or knowledge of the alleged activities."

Prosecutors allege that Mr. Michel used checks, direct deposits and cash payments to send Mr. Low 's money to the network of about 20 straw donors that he recruited for. donate.

Mr. Michel tried to cover his tracks by falsely claiming that the payments constituted a remuneration for business transactions or gifts, prosecutors said. They added that he had also used more than $ 1 million of Mr. Low's money to make a large donation to an independent committee on his behalf and on behalf of a corporation owned by Mr. Michel. .

The indictment accuses MM. Michel and Low conceal the ploy from the candidate, his campaign and administration, and the federal regulators. Prosecutors also said they hoped their largesse would buy them political influence, especially by giving Mr. Michel an air of importance.

The indictment alleges that Mr. Michel attended at least two events with the candidate in June and September 2012. In September, Mr. Michel took away two of the straw donors and the father of Mr. Low at a fundraiser in a private house in Washington. where they met the candidate and took pictures with him.

The indictment alleges that Mr. Michel made false statements to the Federal Election Commission, claiming that he was at the origin of the money used in donating money. A million dollars. Prosecutors said his allegation of deception also caused other people to make false statements to the Federation, including a presidential fundraising committee and the committee that had received the donation of one million of dollars.

Law enforcement officials in Malaysia and the United States described Low as a major player in the alleged robbery of about $ 4.5 billion from 1Malaysia Development Berhad, a privately owned company. development owned by the state.

The scandal contributed to the electoral defeat of former Prime Minister Najib last May. Mr. Najib was found to have $ 731 million of stolen funds in his own bank accounts and is now facing dozens of charges related to the alleged robbery. He was tried last month in the first of several cases of corruption.

Mr. Ng, who was in detention in Malaysia, was extradited to the United States and pleaded not guilty last week. Mr. Leissner, his former boss, pleaded guilty to money laundering and transnational bribery last August. Mr. Low denied the allegations made in this case.