DOJ unwinds complex web in hunt for Russian wealth belonging to Putin and influential players

The Department of Justice is quietly unraveling a complex web of shell companies and middlemen used by Russian oligarchs, and President Vladimir Putin himself, as it accelerates efforts to seize assets belonging to the Kremlin's most wealthy and influential players, the Justice official charged with leading the team hunting the assets told CNN on Thursday.

Like other Russian oligarchs on the US sanctions list, Putin is a target for the Justice Department's corruption task force as it wages a global campaign against money-laundering Kremlin insiders in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

"I can tell you nothing about what the US knows about any particular person, but he's certainly on the list," Andrew Adams, the head of the Justice Department's KleptoCapture task force, told CNN in an interview. He declined to answer any other direct questions about Putin and his wealth.