Kremlin-linked businessman paid for Trump Jr. wedding parties

A Russian businessman with ties to the Kremlin financed the celebrations following the wedding of U.S. President Donald Trump’s eldest son, the couple confirmed, AFP reports.

Donald Trump Jr. and Bettina Trump said in a joint statement, published on her Instagram account, that their “dear friend” Umar Kremlev had “very generously provided two incredible evenings” of celebrations in the Bahamas in May, CE Report quotes AGERPRES.

The confirmation follows a report by investigative website ProPublica, which said Kremlev spent several hundred thousand dollars financing the receptions.

“It was an extraordinarily generous wedding gift from a friend, and we are deeply grateful,” Bettina and Don Jr. wrote.

President Donald Trump attended neither the wedding ceremony nor the celebrations, saying he had to remain in Washington because of discussions surrounding the war in Iran.

Umar Kremlev heads the International Boxing Association (IBA), an organization from which the International Olympic Committee cut ties following repeated warnings over financial governance and ethical issues.

According to an IBA statement, Russian President Vladimir Putin awarded Kremlev the Order of Friendship in April 2026, an official Russian state honor. The statement was accompanied by a photograph showing the two men shaking hands.

The IBA also published photographs of Donald Trump Jr. alongside Kremlev at an event held in Istanbul in September 2025.

Bettina Trump’s Instagram post included around 20 photographs, some showing the newlyweds on a beach and others featuring Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump and Tiffany Trump.

“It is regrettable that such a personal and happy event is being portrayed as something political or suspicious simply because of a person’s identity or background,” the statement added.

ProPublica, meanwhile, published a group photograph taken during the wedding in which, according to the publication, the top of Kremlev’s head can be seen.

According to the Russian investigative outlet Proekt, the businessman, who is originally from Tajikistan, began his career as a boxing promoter before establishing ties with the FSO, Russia’s Federal Protective Service.

Proekt also reported that he is a member of the Night Wolves, a pro-Kremlin motorcycle club whose members traveled in large numbers to Crimea following Russia’s annexation of the peninsula in 2014. Some members also fought alongside pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.

Photo: Instagram/donaldjtrumpjr