Analysis-Beyond yachts and planes: U.S. turns to foreign agent laws to curb Russian influence

FILE PHOTO: Convicted Russian agent Maria Butina is accompanied by federal agents after her release from a Florida prison, during her transfer onto a jet bound for Moscow at Miami International Airport in Miami, Florida, U.S. October 25, 2019. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement/Handout via REUTERS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY./File Photo

NEW YORK (Reuters) - In the five months since the U.S. Department of Justice launched a task force to seize Russian oligarchs' assets to pressure Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, prosecutors also have targeted something less tangible: Russia's influence.

Prosecutors in that period have charged five Russians with acting on the Kremlin's behalf without registering as foreign agents, as the Justice Department broadly ramps up enforcement of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and a related law known by its code number, 951.