(NASSAU, THE BAHAMAS) – A Russian oligarch with close ties to the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin secretly helped fund Donald Trump Jr.’s wedding celebrations in the Bahamas earlier this year, according to an investigation by ProPublica.
Umar Kremlev, a Russian businessman and head of the International Boxing Association (IBA), paid hundreds of thousands of dollars toward the wedding weekend, including the rental of private islands, a fireworks display and event planning, the outlet reported, citing records and interviews with three anonymous sources.
Donald Trump Jr. and his wife Bettina defended their relationship with Kremlev in a lengthy statement posted to Instagram alongside 20 photographs of the event. The couple described Kremlev as a “dear friend” who “very generously hosted two incredible nights of celebrations for us AFTER our wedding,” calling it an “extraordinarily generous wedding gift from a friend.” They noted they were married in a private ceremony a day before leaving for the Bahamas.
Approximately 50 guests attended the May wedding to Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson, including Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, Eric Trump, Tiffany Trump and her husband Michael Boulos. According to ProPublica, Kremlev’s presence and that of his associates struck other guests as unusual. President Donald Trump did not attend.
Kremlev has a longstanding relationship with the Russian government. Days before the wedding, he was part of Putin’s delegation on a trip to China. Earlier this year, Putin awarded him the Order of Friendship honour. He has also been sanctioned by Ukraine over his ties to Putin. Kremlev’s office reportedly said he was not part of the “official delegation” on the China trip.
A spokesperson for Trump Jr. did not deny Kremlev’s involvement, telling ProPublica he is “a personal friend” whom Trump Jr. met through hunting and that the two are not in business together. A spokesperson for Eric Trump told ProPublica he “has absolutely no clue who this person is, nor has never heard his name.”
“It’s unfortunate that something so personal and happy can be recast as something political or sinister simply because of who someone is or where they come from,” Donald Trump Jr. and Bettina Trump said. “Friendship doesn’t require a political motive. Generosity doesn’t automatically come with an agenda. And sometimes a wedding gift is simply a wedding gift.”
Retired FBI official Frank Montoya Jr. told ProPublica: “If I’m paying for your wedding, at some point, you’re going to owe me something,” adding, “This should be unthinkable for the son of the president.”
Trump Jr. participated in an International Boxing Association panel discussion with Kremlev in Istanbul in September last year. In a press release, the IBA said: “President Kremlev and Donald Trump Jr. made it clear – this alliance will not remain symbolic. More joint initiatives will follow.”
Kremlev is the head of the IBA, backed by state-owned Russian energy company Gazprom, according to ProPublica, though Kremlev’s office told the outlet the Gazprom partnership has expired. Kremlev used a Dubai entity affiliated with the IBA to help pay for the wedding, the outlet reported. Among those in Kremlev’s circle who attended were Alexander Lagutin, who has held leadership roles at a Russian defence company and a state-backed energy company, according to ProPublica. Lagutin also travelled to China with Kremlev. The Russians appear in almost none of the publicly released photographs from the event, ProPublica reported.
Beyond his ties to Putin through the IBA, Kremlev has multiple links to the Russian government. Putin tapped one of Kremlev’s companies to operate the national lottery and he owns Russia’s nationalised car dealership. Kremlev’s office told ProPublica he and Trump Jr. “have a friendly relationship” and “first met a couple of years ago,” adding: “Mr. Kremlev has never discussed political matters with any of his American friends and acquaintances,” including Trump Jr.
In a separate interview with PBS NewsHour, ProPublica journalist Justin Elliott said the reporting was consistent with the couple’s account of a three-day wedding, with the actual ceremony on the Friday attended only by family before around 50 guests arrived for two days of celebrations paid for by Kremlev. Elliott said it remained unexplained how a Russian oligarch who by the couple’s own account met Trump Jr. only a couple of years ago ended up paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in wedding expenses.
He noted that Kremlev speaks limited English and that former Republican and Democratic FBI counterintelligence officials said the situation would have been treated as a “five-alarm situation” had they heard of it while in government. Elliott added that Kremlev was in China as part of Putin’s official delegation just days before the wedding, has received several awards from Putin including the Order of Friendship as recently as April, and owns Russia’s largest car dealership company, which was previously nationalised before the government announced Kremlev as the new owner.
According to Forbes, Donald Trump Jr. is worth around $300 million. Asked why he did not pay for the wedding himself, Elliott said he had never heard of a recently acquired friend paying for a wedding and that it was unclear how much of Trump Jr.’s fortune is liquid. Trump Jr.’s representatives did not comment on that question.
Speaking to NBC News, President Trump defended his son, saying he had never heard of Kremlev and that the oligarch did not pay for the wedding itself but for an after-party given in their honour. “He is happily married, which is nice. He’s calmed down so much. You know, it’s amazing,” Trump said. The close connection between his son and the Russian raised concerns from a top Democrat, who said: “It’s another example of the enormous corruption and grift of the Trump family. We’re certainly demanding answers.” The Kremlin press office told ProPublica that Kremlev has never discussed political matters with any of his American friends and acquaintances.
Speaking on the US Senate floor, Senator Chris Murphy said a Russian oligarch close to Putin had paid for the private island wedding of the president’s son, describing it as “naked corruption in plain view” and “as close to treason as you get.” He said Kremlev is a convicted criminal who runs a boxing company funded by Gazprom, runs the Russian lottery and has a monopoly on Russian sports betting. Murphy noted that shortly before financing and attending the wedding, Kremlev and Putin were together in China on a state visit, that Putin has given Kremlev the Order of Friendship, and that the Ukrainian government has sanctioned him as part of Putin’s inner circle.
He pointed to Eric Trump’s statement that he had “absolutely no clue who this person is,” arguing this showed the two men were not genuine friends but that the arrangement was a business deal between the Trump family and the Russian government. Murphy cited Trump Jr.’s earlier comments about Russian money pouring into Trump family assets, evidence that Trump cryptocurrency may be backed heavily by Russian buyers, and a rise in Trump Jr.’s net worth from $50 million before his father’s second term to $300 million a year later.
He also noted that at least 13 companies tied to the Trump brothers have captured $1.8 billion in long-term federal contracts and commitments and $13 million in direct cash from the Trump administration, with five of those companies receiving their first government contract after the Trump sons invested. Murphy argued that Putin does not pay for a wedding simply to be nice, pointing to Trump’s 180-degree turn in US policy on the Russia-Ukraine war, the cutting off of funding to Ukraine, public statements that Ukraine is at fault for the war, and the suspension of sanctions on Russian oil and gas exports, which specifically helps Gazprom. He said the corruption had become so routine that it felt normal to some, warning that if the Senate did not draw a line in the sand on a bipartisan basis, it would be the end of the republic.
MS NOW reported that ProPublica’s investigation found Kremlev made the guest list of only 50 people, with part of his head visible in the back row of a group photograph posted on Instagram by a friend of the bride. The report said Kremlev footed the bill for hundreds of thousands of dollars of wedding expenses, including renting one of the private islands where a reception was held.
A spokesperson for Trump Jr. did not dispute the wedding payments from Kremlev, calling him a personal friend and not someone with whom he has a business relationship. Kremlev’s office said he and Trump Jr. have a friendly relationship and that he has never discussed political matters with any of his American friends and acquaintances. ProPublica also reached out to the White House and the Kremlin but did not receive a response from either.
In an interview with MS NOW, ProPublica reporter Justin Elliott said the outlet could not answer why Kremlev would spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on the president’s son’s wedding weekend. He said Trump Jr.’s spokesperson did not address the question of why, that the two men according to their own account met only two years ago through a mutual hunting buddy, and that many people who know Kremlev say he does not speak very good English. Elliott described it as extraordinary that the Russian oligarch and his entourage attended and, as Bettina Trump has now confirmed, actually paid for much of the event.
He said Kremlev runs the IBA, which has been heavily funded by Gazprom, and that this represents somebody in Putin’s circle giving direct financial support to the son of the US president. Former FBI counterintelligence officials told ProPublica it would have been a five-alarm fire had this come across their desk while in government. Elliott noted that Trump Jr. does not have a role in the administration but is very influential, having helped choose cabinet members and been credited with getting JD Vance selected as vice president.
He said Trump Jr. and his wife released dozens of photographs and videos from the event in which the Russians were conspicuously absent, with the group photograph found on Instagram posted by another wedding guest. Elliott said Jared Kushner had recently been meeting with Putin alongside Steve Witkoff, and that Americans can make their own decision about what Russia expects in return. He said ProPublica is convinced this is the tip of the iceberg regarding Trump Jr.’s activities and that the public does not fully understand his business activities.
Be First to Comment