Former New York police commissioner and Bernard Kerik has been indicted on 14 federal counts including fraud, obstructing an FBI investigation and lying to the federal government, the US attorney said today.
The charges, which could pose an embarrassment to Giuliani as he campaigns for the Republican presidential nomination, had been expected after media reports that a grand jury returned the indictments yesterday.
Former New York mayor Giuliani is the front-runner to be the Republican candidate for the US presidential election in November 2008, according to national opinion polls.
New York television stations WABC and WNBC reported that Mr Kerik had already surrendered to federal officials. A court hearing is scheduled for later in the day.
The US Attorney for the Southern District of New York called a news conference with the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service later on Friday to announce the indictment at the courthouse in White Plains, just north of New York City, where the grand jury was investigating Mr Kerik's finances and business dealings.
Mr Kerik, 52, and Giuliani were also business partners and, with Giuliani's backing, Mr Kerik was nominated by President George W. Bush in 2004 to be secretary of Homeland Security.