Former Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson and city politician Derek Hatton have been charged with bribery and misconduct relating to council contracts, along with 10 others, police have said.
The charges come after a Merseyside Police probe, Operation Aloft, focused on a number of property developers.
Mr Anderson and Mr Hatton were first arrested in 2020 as part of an investigation into the awarding of building contracts.
Following his arrest, Mr Anderson said he would “continue to fight to demonstrate that I am innocent of any wrongdoing”.
