Russian funding of Trump Jr.'s wedding
Bettina Trump, wife of Donald Trump Jr., confirmed via an Instagram statement that two nights of their May wedding celebration on a private Bahamas island were partly funded by Umar Kremlev, a Russian businessman with close ties to President Vladimir Putin, after the investigative outlet ProPublica reported Kremlev had paid 'hundreds of thousands of dollars' toward the festivities, including a roughly $70,000 fireworks display. The couple called it 'an extraordinarily generous wedding gift from a friend.' Because Trump Jr. is a private citizen, accepting the gift from a foreign national is not illegal, but ethics watchdogs said it still raised conflict-of-interest concerns; Jordan Libowitz of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington said 'people don't just give hundreds of thousands of dollars to a random acquaintance without wanting something.' Kremlev runs the Gazprom-backed International Boxing Association, from which the Olympic Committee suspended the group over undisclosed ties to the Russian energy giant; Putin has also awarded Kremlev the state Order of Friendship. A spokesperson for Trump Jr. said the two men were personal friends with no business relationship, and Kremlev's office confirmed a 'friendly relationship' dating back a few years. Attendees at the wedding included Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner, who has worked on US diplomacy with Russia and Iran.
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As it ran
15 September 2026
- Donald Trump Jr and Bettina Trump say Putin ally paid for some wedding festivities as a 'gift' BBC News
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