The Russian lawyer who attended the infamous Trump Tower meeting during the 2016 US election campaign has been charged with obstruction of justice over an unrelated case.

Natalia Veselnitskaya, 43, was among a group of Russians who met with top Trump campaign figures in June 2016 after an intermediary suggested they had incriminating information on Hillary Clinton.

The meeting is being scrutinised by Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating whether Mr Trump’s campaign team conspired with Russians to influence the 2016 election.

On Tuesday, Ms Veselnitskaya was accused in a court filing of secretly working with Russian government figures over a statement which misled the US courts in a money laundering case.

The indictment claims that Ms Veselnitskaya, representing a firm caught up in the scandal, did “corruptly influence, obstruct and impede” the process of justice through her statements.

The case in question is unrelated to the Trump Tower meeting. Ms Veselnitskaya’s actions which triggered the charge took place in 2014 and 2015 - well before the gathering.

However the alleged ties between Ms Veselnitskaya and Russian prosecutors revealed in the indictment are one the clearest indications yet that she had deep links with that country’s government.

It raises questions about who Ms Veselnitskaya was representing when she attended the meeting.