A founding member of the 1990s hip hop group the Fuges and a wealthy Malaysian businessman have been charged with steering illegal campaign donations into the 2012 US election.

Prakazrel Michel, known by his rap name Pras, and Low Taek Jho, commonly known as Jho Low, were both charged in an indictment unsealed by the US Justice Department on Friday.

Low is accused of transferring approximately $21.6 million from foreign entities and accounts to Michel between June and November 2012.

The scheme was allegedly an attempt to make campaign contributions to a candidate for the White House.

The candidate is not named by prosecutors but widely reported to be Barack Obama, who was running for re-election in 2012. Michel is a known Obama supporter and has backed him financially in the past.