The U.S. Department of Justice said on Wednesday that Konstantin Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva, who work for Russian state-controlled media outlet RT, have been charged with money-laundering offenses after allegedly using fake personas and shell companies to pay almost $10 million (€9 million) to a Tennessee-based company to distribute pro-Kremlin content.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said: “The Justice Department will not tolerate attempts by an authoritarian regime to exploit our country’s free exchange of ideas in order to covertly further its own propaganda efforts.”

Meanwhile, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said: “As alleged in today’s indictment, Russian state broadcaster RT… co-opted online commentators by funneling them nearly $10 million to pump pro-Russia propaganda and disinformation across social media to U.S. audiences.”

“The Department will not tolerate foreign efforts to illegally manipulate American public opinion by sowing discord and division,” she added.

The Department of Justice also seized 32 internet domains it said were used to influence U.S. voters, while the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned two entities and 10 people, including RT chief editor Margarita Simonovna Simonyan.

A Department of Justice press release said the domains were used in an attempt to reduce public support for Ukraine and bolster pro-Russian policies and interests.

The charges and sanctions come just two months before the U.S. presidential election, with American officials accusing RT of trying to influence the tightly contested race.

RT has denied the accusations. In a sarcasm-laced response cited by Reuters, it said: “Three things are certain in life: death, taxes, and RT's interference in the U.S. elections.”