The celebrations that followed the wedding of Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of US President Donald Trump, were funded, at least in part, by a Russian businessman with ties to the Kremlin, the couple confirmed on Monday.
Donald Trump Jr. and Bettina Trump said, in a joint message posted on the latter's official Instagram account, that their "dear friend" Umar Kremlev "very generously" offered them "two incredible nights" of celebration in the Bahamas in May.
Background to the confirmation
The couple's confirmation followed a report by the news website ProPublica, according to which Kremlev spent several hundred thousand dollars funding the celebrations. The couple described it as an "extremely generous wedding gift from a friend," adding that they were "particularly grateful."
President Trump was present at neither the wedding itself nor the celebrations. He said at the time that he was obliged to remain in Washington because of negotiations with Iran aimed at ending the war in the Middle East.
Who is Umar Kremlev
Kremlev is the head of the International Boxing Association (IBA), an organisation from which the International Olympic Committee has cut ties following repeated warnings over its financial management and ethics issues.
According to an IBA announcement, Russian President Vladimir Putin awarded Kremlev the Order of Friendship, one of the country's top state honours, in April 2026. The announcement was accompanied by a photograph showing the two men shaking hands.
The IBA had also previously released photographs of Donald Trump Jr. alongside Kremlev at an event organised in Constantinople in September 2025.
Wedding photos and the couple's statement
Bettina Trump's Instagram post included around twenty photographs showing the newlyweds on a beach together with Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump and Tiffany Trump.
"It's unfortunate that something so personal and happy can be presented as a political issue or as suspicious simply because of a person's identity or background," the couple's statement added.
ProPublica's report was accompanied by a group photograph taken during the wedding ceremony, in which, the outlet notes, the top of Kremlev's head can be seen.
Reported background of Kremlev
According to the Russian-language investigative outlet Proekt, Kremlev, who is of Tajik origin, began his career as a boxing manager and built ties with the FSO, Russia's federal protective service for senior officials.
Proekt also reports that Kremlev was a member of the Night Wolves, a pro-Kremlin motorcycle club whose members travelled to Crimea after its 2014 annexation by Russia, with some reportedly fighting alongside pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine in the conflict that followed.
