Confidant of Vladimir Putin
Russian oligarch apparently financed Trump son’s wedding
September 14, 2026 – 9:12 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
An oligarch close to Putin apparently spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on Donald Trump Jr.’s luxury wedding in the Bahamas. Security experts see this as a delicate connection.
The Russian oligarch Umar Kremlev apparently attended the wedding of Donald Trump Jr. participated – and partially financed it. Kremlin, a confidant of the Russian president Vladimir Putintherefore covered the costs for a fireworks show and the rental of a private island where the wedding reception took place in May and where the guests stayed overnight, reports the investigative platform “ProPublica”.
The Russian oligarch is president of the controversial International Boxing Association (IBA). The payments for the wedding should be made by an institution affiliated with the IBA Dubai which the boxing association uses for financial transactions.
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Security experts expressed alarm to ProPublica. Former FBI counterintelligence expert Frank Montoya Jr. warned: “If I pay for your wedding, at some point you’ll owe me something.” Such a connection should be “unthinkable” for the president’s son, said Montoya Jr. Holden Triplett, former counterintelligence chief on the National Security Council, also said that Russian secret services often tried to gain access to US government officials and their families through money.
Trump Jr. does not deny payments
A spokesman for Trump Jr. did not dispute the payments by Kremlin, describing him as a “personal friend” with whom he had no business relationship. The two met through a mutual friend from the hunting scene. Kremlev’s press office spoke of a “friendly relationship” that began several years ago.
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A spokesman for said otherwise Donald Trump Jr.’s brother Eric, who was also at the wedding. He said: “Eric has absolutely no idea who this person is and has never heard his name.” Only 50 people were said to have been at the wedding, “only very close friends,” reported Trump Jr. According to ProPublica, Kremlev only speaks a little English. He is said to have been part of a larger group whose presence confused other wedding guests.
Kremlev has been at the head of the IBA since the end of 2020. The association organized the biennial boxing world championships until 2023 and, as the umbrella organization for international boxing, also determined the rules for Olympic competitions for a long time. Even before Kremlin’s presidency, the association was confronted with allegations of corruption, to which the IOC responded with a temporary suspension.
