House oversight Democrat demands answers about Kremlev payments
The Guardian reported Monday that Umar Kremlev, a Russian oligarch with longstanding ties to Vladimir Putin, paid hundreds of thousands of dollars toward Donald Trump Jr’s wedding to Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson in the Bahamas in May, citing ProPublica’s original investigation.
According to ProPublica, which cited records and interviews with three anonymous sources familiar with the event, Kremlev paid to rent one of two exclusive private islands where the three-day reception was held and covered other large expenses including a fireworks display. The Guardian reported that the payments flowed through an International Boxing Association-affiliated entity in Dubai that the boxing association uses for financial transactions.
Robert Garcia, the ranking Democrat on the House oversight committee, wrote on social media: “Why did a Russian oligarch close to Putin fund Trump Jr.’s wedding in the Bahamas? Umar Kremlev spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on the President’s son. What did he get in return? We need answers.”
The ProPublica report places Kremlev within Putin’s immediate circle. He heads the International Boxing Association, a sporting body backed by state-owned Russian energy company Gazprom. Days before the wedding events, Kremlev traveled to China as part of a delegation accompanying Putin, The Guardian reported, and the month prior the Russian president had bestowed on him the Order of Friendship state honor. Ukraine has imposed sanctions on Kremlev, citing his closeness to Putin and Russian security services.
Among those who attended the wedding events with Kremlev were Alexander Lagutin, a businessperson who has held senior roles at a Russian defense contractor and a state-backed energy company, and Elena Sobol, Kremlev’s right hand at the IBA, The Guardian reported. While the overall guest list numbered about 50 people — most of them immediate family and close friends of the couple — Kremlev did not attend the wedding ceremony itself, which was limited to 18 guests. He was present with a large contingent of Russians at the post-wedding celebrations, where the group reportedly stood off by themselves speaking Russian, according to ProPublica.
The reporting has prompted questions about the implications of a member of Putin’s circle financially supporting and gaining intimate access to the US president’s family. In recent years Trump Jr has emerged as a leading campaign surrogate for Trump and has been touted as a potential political heir.
Retired FBI official Frank Montoya Jr told ProPublica: “If I’m paying for your wedding, at some point, you’re going to owe me something. This should be unthinkable for the son of the president.”
The motive behind the gift remains unclear. Kremlev appears to have met Trump Jr — executive vice-president of the Trump Organization, whose personal net worth has been reported in the ballpark of $300m — only recently.
President Trump did not attend the wedding. “He’d like me to go, but it’s going to be just a small, little private affair,” Trump told reporters a few days before the nuptials. “I said, you know, this is not good timing for me. I have a thing called Iran and other things.”
In response to detailed questions from ProPublica, a spokesperson for Trump Jr did not deny that Kremlev had helped fund the wedding. “Umar is a personal friend of Don,” the spokesperson said, adding Kremlev is “not someone he has a business relationship with” and that the men met through a mutual friend in the hunting world.
After the article was published, Bettina Trump confirmed the report, thanking “our dear friend Umar” who “very generously hosted two incredible nights of celebrations for us AFTER our wedding.” In the post, signed by the couple, she said she and Trump Jr “got married privately on 22 May surrounded ONLY by our family,” and characterized the Russian businessman’s role in the post-wedding festivities as a gift.
“It was an extraordinarily generous wedding gift from a friend, and something for which we were and remain incredibly grateful,” she wrote, adding: “Friendship doesn’t require a political motive. Generosity doesn’t automatically come with an agenda. And sometimes a wedding gift is simply a wedding gift.”