Donald Trump Jr.ʼs wedding in the Bahamas in late May was partly funded by a secret benefactor, who turned out to be Russian oligarch Umar Kremlev, who is close to Vladimir Putin.
This is stated in an investigation by the American organization ProPublica, which reviewed documents and spoke with people who were at the wedding.
It was learned that Kremlev paid for the rental of one of the private islands where the reception was held and where the guests slept. He also paid for the fireworks, and his team helped plan the wedding.
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The Russian oligarch heads the International Boxing Association (IBA), a sports organization funded by Russiaʼs Gazprom. The expenses were paid through an IBA-linked structure in Dubai, which the boxing association uses for financial transactions.
According to ProPublica, the guest list included about 50 people in total. They included Trump Jr.’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, Eric Trump, as well as Kremlev himself and several other Russians.
Chinese state media reported that Kremlev was in China a few days before Trump Jr.’s wedding as part of a delegation accompanying Putin. Before that, Putin awarded him a state award, the Order of Friendship.
The organization believes it is unclear why a Russian oligarch helped pay for Trump Jr.ʼs wedding. Open-source data suggests that Trump Jr. could well have paid for the wedding himself: Forbes recently estimated his fortune at around $300 million.
A spokesman for Trump Jr. said that Kremlev is a friend of Trumpʼs son. He added that the men met through a mutual friend in the hunting world.
Trump Jr. married Bettina Anderson on a private island where the Pirates of the Caribbean and the James Bond film Casino Royale were filmed. The newlyweds had their first dance on a second private island nearby.
It costs about $100 000 per night to rent, with Kremlinlov paying for the expenses. The company that organized the fireworks display charges about $70 000 for such shows.
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