RIO DE JANEIRO — Prosecutors filed charges on Wednesday against former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, one of Brazil’s most prominent political figures, shaking the country’s already anxious political establishment.

The charges, brought by prosecutors in São Paulo State, are connected to claims of money laundering and misrepresentation of assets involving a luxury apartment in the beachfront city of Guarujá. It is unclear what the specific charges are.

Federal investigators say that Mr. da Silva effectively acquired the property, a claim he denies, and that O.A.S., a construction company, paid for improvements at the apartment with funds that may have come from the giant graft scheme at Petrobras, the national oil company.

The charges came after Mr. da Silva, 70, was held for questioning and his home raided by the police last week.