Donald Trump Jr’s wedding was ‘funded by Putin-linked Russian oligarch’

| Live News Reporter Published September 15, 2026 6:36am Updated September 15, 2026 6:36am Bettina has admitted their ‘dear friend’ Umar hosted two nights of celebrations (Picture: AFP) A Russian oligarch said to be close to Vladimir Putin allegedly paid for Donald Trump Jr.’s wedding this spring. The eldest of the president’s offspring, Trump Jr., exchanged vows with Florida socialite Bettina Anderson in a small and lavish Bahamas ceremony. The three-day event was held on multiple private islands and was ‘everything the couple dreamed of’, Bettina said. ProPublica has now revealed that the hefty bill for the wedding was paid for by Umar Kremlev, a Russian millionaire. Kremlev heads up the International Boxing Association, which is bankrolled by a Kremlin-linked energy company. ProPublica’s investigation found that the wedding was paid for by an IBA ‘affiliated’ entity in Dubai. Sign up for all of the latest stories Start your day informed with Metro's News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens. Umar Kremlev is accused of funding the President’s son’s wedding (Picture: Reuters) A spokesman for Trump Jr previously said that Kremlev was a ‘personal friend of Donald’. A spokesperson for Trump Jr pointed Metro to Bettina’s recent Instagram post, which read: ‘Don and I got married privately on Friday, surrounded ONLY by our family. It was intimate, deeply personal and one of the most beautiful days of our lives. ‘Our dear friend Umar very generously hosted two incredible nights of celebrations for us AFTER our wedding. It was an extraordinarily generous wedding gift from a friend, and something for which we were and remain incredibly grateful. She added: ‘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.’ Security concerns have already been raised by former intelligence chiefs who fear the President’s son could be being used as a pawn. Frank Montoya Jr., a retired FBI counterintelligence operative, told ProPublica: ‘If I’m paying for your wedding, at some point, you’re going to owe me something. ‘This should be unthinkable for the son of the president. End of story.’ Don Jr was previously married to Vanessa Trump, with whom he has two children, Kai and Donald Trump III. Vanessa Trump is dating golfer Tiger Woods. He is the eldest child born to Trump and his first wife, Ivana, before Ivanka and Eric, and he has two half-siblings, Barron and Tiffany Trump. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. For more stories like this, check our news page. Arrow MORE: NATO fighter jets destroy mystery drone in Lithuania Arrow MORE: Donald Trump rules on pardon plea from Lindsay Clancy’s legal team Arrow MORE: Russia is ‘rehearsing’ attacks that could knock out the UK’s internet News Updates Stay on top of the headlines with daily email updates.