Donald Trump Jr.’s wife confirms oligarch financed celebrations
In the Bahamas, Donald Trump Jr.’s wife, Bettina Trump, confirmed that Russian oligarch Umar Kremlev partially financed two evenings of celebrations held after their wedding in May. In an Instagram post signed by the couple, she called Kremlev a “dear friend” and said that he generously hosted two evenings of celebrations for them after the ceremony.
A gift after the ceremony
Bettina Trump said that she and the U.S. president’s son married in a private ceremony attended only by family. According to her, the weekend with friends had been planned in advance and was initially not meant to be a wedding celebration. After changing their original plans, the couple decided to marry before these events and arrived there already as newlyweds.
As CBC World reports, the nonprofit investigative outlet ProPublica previously wrote that Kremlev paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses related to the wedding of Trump Jr. and Bettina Anderson. According to ProPublica, he paid, among other things, for the rental of one of the two private islands where the three-day party took place and for fireworks.
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Kremlev’s ties to Putin
Kremlev heads the International Boxing Association and has close ties to Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, an aggressor state. According to the association, Putin recently awarded Kremlev the Order of Friendship. Chinese state media also reported that Kremlev accompanied Putin during a trip by the Russian delegation to China.
Trump Jr. had previously drawn attention over his ties to Russia. During the 2016 presidential campaign, federal and congressional investigators examined his meeting at Trump Tower with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya as part of investigations into possible Russian interference in the U.S. elections. The meeting was presented as an opportunity to discuss potentially compromising information about the then Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
