Yesterday, Thursday, the US judiciary charged Steve Bannon, a former adviser to Donald Trump, with fraud in a multi-million dollar embezzlement case.

Bannon, 68, who is considered one of the most prominent faces of the right-wing populist movement, and contributed strongly to Trump's accession to the White House;

He surrendered Thursday to the judiciary in New York.

Charges against Bannon and the non-profit organization We Build The Wall include money laundering, conspiracy and fraud.

Prosecutors said he planned to raise funds for a year, and secured more than $15 million in donations based on false promises to build a wall between the United States and Mexico.

In announcing the charges, Manhattan Attorney General Alvin Bragg said at a news conference that "collecting profits by lying to donors is a crime, and in New York he is being held accountable."

In 2020, the federal judiciary charged Bannon with fraud based on the same suspicions, but Trump granted him a pardon before he appeared in court.

"There can be no rules for ordinary people and other rules for the rich and powerful," New York Attorney General Leticia James said. "We all have to follow the same rules and abide by the law."

"Bannon used the political views of his donors to get the millions of dollars he then embezzled," she said. "Mr. Bannon lied to his donors to enrich himself and his friends."

refused to cooperate

The criminal indictment comes six weeks after Bannon was found guilty in federal court in Washington of obstructing the investigative powers of Congress.

Bannon had refused to cooperate with the Parliamentary Inquiry into the Trump supporters' attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Even after his removal from the White House in August 2017, Steve Bannon remained close to Donald Trump and spoke to him the day before Congress.

Trump himself is the focus of multiple investigations, including a New York investigation into his business practices, legal scrutiny of his efforts to overturn the outcome of the 2020 election, and his role in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating the issue of keeping top-secret documents, following the raid on his Florida home.