Trump Jr. Discusses Deals With Russian Oligarch, Report Says

Donald Trump Jr. met Russian businessman Umar Kremlev in Kazakhstan to discuss potential business deals earlier this year, according to an investigation published on Friday, Oct. 30, adding a commercial dimension to scrutiny of their relationship. Russian investigative outlet IStoriesreported the allegations, citing two people personally acquainted with Kremlev who said he had described the encounters as business meetings. Neither source knew which specific deals were discussed.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. A spokesperson for the US president’s eldest son disputed the account, saying the men were personal friends who “have never entered into any business deals with each other and have no plans to do so.” Kremlev did not respond to the outlet’s questions before publication. The investigation was subsequently published in English by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) on Wednesday, Nov. 4. Both sides have business interests in Kazakhstan IStories suggested Kazakhstan could have provided a convenient meeting place because both Kremlev and the Trump family have commercial interests there. It did not establish that either side’s existing ventures were discussed. Donald Trump Jr. and his brother Eric invested through a vehicle connected to Skyline Builders, which subsequently acquired a 20% stake in Kaz Resources, a company involved in developing tungsten deposits in Kazakhstan. The project has attracted prospective US government backing. The Export-Import Bank and the US International Development Finance Corporation issued letters of interest for financing totaling up to $1.6 billion – expressions of potential support rather than confirmation that the money had been disbursed. Other Topics of Interest Japan Demands Russia Return Control of Four Japan Tobacco Businesses A Putin decree placed four Russian manufacturing businesses belonging to Japan Tobacco under temporary management. Japan’s government owns about 37% of the parent company. Kremlev’s interests concern the betting industry. IStories described links between him and a businessman whose company was selected as a payments platform for Kazakhstan’s centralized betting system. The report did not identify a joint venture between Kremlev and Trump Jr. Wedding payments brought their friendship under scrutiny The allegations follow revelations that Kremlev funded wedding celebrations for Trump Jr. and Bettina Anderson in the Bahamas in May. After ProPublica disclosed the arrangement in September, the couple acknowledged that Kremlev had hosted two evenings of festivities. They distinguished those events from the wedding ceremony itself and defended the contribution as a gift from a friend. ProPublica’s investigation, based on financial records and interviews, put the expenses at hundreds of thousands of dollars. The reported payments covered major elements of the celebrations, including a private island rental and fireworks. President Donald Trump subsequently said his son was paying Kremlev back. Reuters also cited a source who said Trump Jr. intended to reimburse him. Those statements described repayment plans – they did not themselves provide a public accounting of the amounts returned. A Mongolian hunting trip revealed further contact Trump Jr. and Kremlev also hunted together in Mongolia in August, according to a Financial Times investigation published on Oct. 27. The newspaper reconstructed the trip through flight records, accounts from guides and local officials, social media material, and public records. Kremlev flew from Kazakhstan to Ulaanbaatar on Aug. 27 before traveling by helicopter to a hunting camp in western Mongolia. He spent two days with Trump Jr., whose visit to the country lasted roughly a week. Trump Jr.’s representative told the newspaper that the men had met through a mutual friend in hunting circles and that their relationship centered on outdoor activities. Kremlev heads the International Boxing Association and has longstanding connections to Russia’s political establishment. Putin presented him with Russia’s Order of Friendship in April. Trump Jr. and Kremlev had already appeared together publicly at an IBA event in Istanbul in September 2025. Their documented friendship is not in dispute – the unresolved question raised by the latest investigation is whether their private contacts also involved business discussions. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 90% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.