Federal prosecutors in New York involved in the criminal investigation into Donald Trump’s social media company last year began looking into whether it violated money-laundering laws in connection with accepting $8 million with suspected Russian ties, sources told the Guardian.

Trump Media, which owns the platform Truth Social, initially came under criminal investigation for its preparations for a possible merger with a blank check company called Digital World, which was also the subject of a previous investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Late last year, federal prosecutors began looking into two loans totaling $8 million that were written to Trump Media, through the Caribbean, by two shadowy entities that both appear to be controlled in part by a connection to an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the sources said.

The expanded nature of the criminal investigation, which has not been previously reported, threatens to delay the completion of the merger between Trump Media and Digital World, which would have provided the company and Truth Social with up to $1.3 billion in capital. as well as its entry on the stock market.