White House backs Treasury view that Russia's Putin is corrupt

[January 29, 2016]    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Treasury official's assessment that Russian President Vladimir Putin is corrupt "best reflects the administration's view," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters at a daily briefing on Thursday.

Earlier this week, the BBC reported that Adam Szubin, acting Treasury secretary for terrorism and financial crimes, said in an interview the United States considers Putin corrupt. The Kremlin later described the remarks as an "official accusation."

(Reporting by Jeff Mason, Doina Chiacu and Mohammad Zargham; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

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