Russian businessman Umar Kremlev, who is linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin, financed the organisation of the wedding of US President Donald Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr.
This is according to a ProPublica investigation.
According to the journalists, Kremlev paid to rent one of the private islands in the Bahamas where part of the wedding events took place and guests stayed. He also funded, among other things, fireworks and other expenses, and his team helped to organise the event.
The wedding of Trump Jr and Bettina Anderson took place in May on two private islands. There were around 50 guests, including members of the Trump family and Kremlev.
The journalists separately drew attention to the guest list. Among those invited was a noticeable group of Russians who often spoke to one another in Russian. They included Aleksandr Lagutin, a businessman who previously held senior roles at a Russian defence contractor and a state energy company. Also at the wedding was Olena Sobol, a close associate of Kremlev’s at the IBA.
After the wedding, the Trump family published many photos and videos from the event, but most of the Russian guests do not appear in them. Trump Jr himself, on his podcast, stressed the privacy of the celebration and said attendees were not supposed to disclose information about the guests.
Journalists also found that Trump Jr could have afforded to pay for such a wedding himself. Forbes previously estimated his wealth at about $300 million. So, ProPublica notes, it remains unclear why Kremlev decided to cover a significant part of the event.
Kremlev himself heads the International Boxing Association (IBA), which for a long time was funded by the Russian state energy company Gazprom. The wedding costs, according to the investigation, were paid by a Dubai-based entity linked to the IBA that the association uses for financial transactions.
The journalists note that Kremlev and Trump Jr first met in September 2025. Trump Jr spoke at an IBA event in Istanbul, which Kremlev also attended.
A representative for Trump Jr did not dispute the information that Kremlev paid the wedding expenses. He said the Russian businessman is a “personal friend” of Trump Jr, but that there are no business ties between them.
According to him, they met through a mutual friend in hunting circles and grew closer thanks to a shared interest in boxing and outdoor pursuits.
Kremlev’s press service also confirmed the friendly relationship between the businessman and Trump Jr. At the same time, it said Kremlev has never discussed political issues with his American friends and acquaintances.
Former FBI employee Frank Montoya Jr said the situation around financing Trump Jr’s wedding could create risks because money could be used to gain access to influential people.
According to ProPublica, on the eve of the wedding Kremlev was in China during Putin’s visit. However, his press service denied that he was part of the Russian president’s official delegation.
What Is Known About Kremlev
According to ProPublica, Kremlev began rapidly gaining influence in Russia after changing his name in 2010. Previously, he was known as Umar Lutfullayev.
He later joined the pro-Putin Russian biker group the “Night Wolves”. It was through this, ProPublica says, citing Russian investigations, that Kremlev became close to Aleksey Rubezhny, who now heads the security service of the Russian president. In 2017, Kremlev became head of the Russian Boxing Federation.
In 2020, he became president of the International Boxing Association. Under his leadership, the organisation received substantial funding from Gazprom. Former senior IBA employees told ProPublica that Kremlev’s activities had a political dimension and were linked to using sport to increase Russian influence.
In 2023, the International Olympic Committee stripped the IBA of the right to organise Olympic boxing competitions. Among the reasons, the IOC cited governance problems within the association and a lack of transparency about the sources of its funding.
After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, Kremlev, according to ProPublica, feared possible US sanctions. At the same time, he is not currently on publicly available US sanctions lists. As relations between Russia and the West deteriorated, a significant part of the IBA’s operations were moved from Switzerland to the United Arab Emirates. It was the Dubai-based entity linked to the IBA, the journalists found, that later paid the costs of Trump Jr’s wedding.
Kremlev also sought to strengthen his presence in the United States. In January 2025, he addressed an open letter to Donald Trump, urging the president to pay attention to the activities of the International Olympic Committee. In September of that year, Trump Jr took part in an IBA event in Istanbul.
In April 2026, Putin awarded him the Order of Friendship.
Ukraine has also imposed sanctions on Kremlev because of his closeness to the Russian president and the FSB. In addition, Kremlev is linked to the organisation Healthy Fatherland, which Ukraine added to its sanctions lists because of its alleged involvement in a programme to move Ukrainian children from occupied territories under the guise of “rehabilitation”.