A production company affiliated with the Kremlin-backed media network RT registered with the Justice Department on Monday as a foreign agent in the U.S.

RT, formerly known as Russia Today, has been under heightened scrutiny to register as a foreign agent since it was prominently mentioned in a January report from the U.S. intelligence community about Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Since 2008, the network, which had used the slogan "Question More," has marketed itself as an independent-minded alternative to mainstream news networks. However, it's long been seen by U.S. officials as an international mouthpiece for the Kremlin.

The filing Monday by T & R Productions, a corporation based in the nation's capital that operates RT in the U.S., confirmed that the company had received about $350,000 from Russian state media.

People or entities that advocate in the U.S. on behalf of foreign governments are required to register as foreign agents or risk criminal charges, although media companies have traditionally been exempt from the requirement.

The Justice Department has only rarely pursued charges for failing to register – the penalties for violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act are relatively light. The statute has been used at times to expel spies that the Justice Department might otherwise have difficulty charging with a crime.

However, the Justice Department special counsel unsealed an indictment last month indicating that it was charging former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and former adviser Rick Gates with FARA violations, among other charges that included money laundering and tax fraud.

The registration of RT would appear to signal that the Justice Department is stepping up enforcement of the FARA statute. T & R Productions disclosed in its filing that it has produced English-language programming for RT, hired and paid U.S.-based RT employees, and operated studies for RT.

“Americans have a right to know who is acting in the United States to influence the U.S. government or public on behalf of foreign principals,” acting Assistant Attorney General Dana Boente said in a statement. “The Department of Justice is committed to enforcing FARA and expects compliance with the law by all entities engaged in specified activities on behalf of any foreign principal, regardless of its nationality.”

T & R, in its filing, maintained that it shouldn't have had to register, stating, "Registrant respectfully disagrees that FARA should apply." It added that it broadcasts "programs that are designed merely to inform, not influence ... and are not aimed to primarily benefit any foreign government or political party."