Two Soviet-born American businessmen linked to President Donald Trump and his associates have been indicted in connection with funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars of campaign contributions to Republicans through a shell company.

Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman were arrested as they tried to leave the country. They donated $325,000 through the shell company, Global Energy Producers, to a political action committee (PAC) supporting Trump's re-election campaign, according to the indictment and news reports.

In all, $694,000 was donated to Republicans, the Palm Beach Post reported.

Parnas and Fruman also worked with Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani to persuade Ukrainian officials to investigate the son of former Vice President Joe Biden.

Biden is a potential Democratic challenger to Trump in the 2020 presidential election.

Trump withheld military aid for Ukraine while he pressured the Ukrainian president to cooperate with Giuliani's efforts, leading to the current impeachment inquiry.

Worked to force out U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine

In 2018, Parnas and Fruman met with then-Rep. Pete Sessions, promising to raise at least $20,000 for his re-election campaign, according to the indictment and news reports. Sessions then wrote to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo calling for Marie Yovanovitch - the ambassador - to be dismissed.

Parnas and Fruman each later contributed $2,700 - the maximum allowed - to Sessions' campaign.

Yovanovitch had contradicted the Trump administration narrative regarding a Ukrainian prosecutor considered to be to have allowed corruption to take place in Ukraine. The administration recalled Yovanovitch in May,

Unclear whether Parnas and Fruman worked for Giuliani, or other way around.

Giuliani was paid $500,000 last year by a Florida-based company co-founded by Parnas, named Fraud Guarantee. Giuliani said the payment was for business and legal advice. He did not say where the money originally came from.

The charges

Parnas and Fruman were charged with conspiring to make contributions in connection with federal elections in the names of others, and with making false statements and falsifying records to the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

They also were charged - along with Americans David Correia and Andrey Kukushkin - for a scheme to conceal contributions from a Russian businessman to promote a planned medical marijuana business.

Update 2019-Nov-4: Parnas will testify in impeachment inquiry

Parnas is prepared to comply with requests for documents and testimony, his lawyer, Joseph Bondy, told Reuters.

Bondy said Trump is falsely denying his relationship with Parnas.

Numerous photos have emerged of Trump and Giuliani with Parnas and Fruman, including ones taken at the White House and Mar-a-Lago. The earliest known photo of Trump with Parnas dates to 2014.

It's unclear how much information Parnas will provide to the impeachment inquiry, given ongoing criminal charges against him. Bondy said it's possible his client will assert his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

For more, read the Vox story.

Click here to read the indictment.