The parent company of news website the International Business Times has been charged in connection with an alleged $35m fraud which prosecutors say saw funds laundered through an evangelical Christian university.

IBT Media, formerly Newsweek Media Group, and its co-owner Etienne Uzac each face two counts of money laundering, four counts of falsifying business records, and one count of scheming to defraud and conspiracy.

The charges were announced by Manhattan’s district attorney following a two-year investigation into the media group, which in September split into two separate companies: Newsweek and IBT Media.