WASHINGTON, April 21 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc aggressively increased political campaign donations and lobby spending in Congress in early 2010, as the financial reform debate gathered momentum, according to newly released official documents.

Records show the embattled Wall Street firm nearly doubling its spending on Washington lobbyists to $1.2 million during the first quarter of 2010, as the focus of the reform debate shifted to legislation proposed by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd. The bank spent $670,000 on lobbying during the same period a year ago, according to Senate disclosure records. The data does not show how much lobby money Goldman spent specifically on financial reform.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Goldman Sachs with fraud over the structure and marketing of a debt product tied to subprime mortgages. Goldman has denied the charges.

The first-quarter increase may also be skewed by a new federal standard that requires corporations to report lobby donations to trade associations during the three-month period.