Donald Trump Jr’s wedding was ‘funded by oligarch close to Putin’ – here’s what we know

Donald Trump Jr.’s new wife has confirmed that the couple’s two-night wedding party was partly funded by a Russian oligarch with close ties to Vladimir Putin. The wedding between Trump Jr. and socialite Bettina Anderson in the Bahamas was heavily funded by Umar Kremlev, according to earlier reports. Who is Umar Kremlev? Kremlev is a Russian oligarch who heads the International Boxing Association. He “footed the bill for hundreds of thousands of dollars of wedding expenses,” including paying to rent out one of two private islands where the three-day party was held and a fireworks show, ProPublica reported. Shorts He was recently honoured with the Order of Friendship by Putin, according to the International Boxing Association. He accompanied Putin to China as part of a Russian delegation. What have the couple said? In a post on Instagram, Bettina Trump called Kremlev a “dear friend”. Kremlev “very generously hosted two incredible nights of celebrations for us AFTER our wedding,” she added. Bettina said: “It was an extraordinarily generous wedding gift from a friend, and something for which we were and remain incredibly grateful.” In the post, Bettina claimed that she and the president’s son were married in a private ceremony “surrounded ONLY by our family,” “The weekend that followed had actually been planned well in advance as a fun weekend with friends. It was never intended to be our wedding weekend. “When our original wedding plans changed, we simply decided to get married before it and arrived at an already planned weekend as newlywed. “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. “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.” That gift comes as Russia remains at war following its invasion of Ukraine and as the president has failed to broker a promised peace deal between the nations. What other links does Trump Jr have to Russia? Trump Jr. has previously been scrutinised over his Russian ties. During the 2016 campaign, his meeting with Russian attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya in Trump Tower was the subject of intense scrutiny by federal and congressional investigators probing whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia to meddle in the election. The meeting had been billed as an opportunity to discuss potentially incriminating information about the president’s then-Democrat opponent, Hillary Rodham Clinton, as part of the Russian government’s alleged efforts to help Trump Jr.’s father win the White House. EXPLORE MORE ON THE TOPICS IN THIS STORY