Ethics groups flag conflict-of-interest concerns over Putin ally’s gift
The BBC reported Friday that Russian oligarch Umar Kremlev runs the International Boxing Association (IBA), which is funded by the Russian state-backed energy company Gazprom. The International Olympic Committee suspended the IBA in part over its failure to report its ties to Gazprom, the BBC reported. According to ProPublica, which published the original investigation into the wedding payments, Putin awarded Kremlev the Order of Friendship, a top Russian state honor, and Kremlev was a member of a delegation that visited China with Putin in May.
The BBC’s reporting placed those institutional details alongside President Donald Trump’s Oval Office claim that his son has repaid Kremlev for partly funding post-wedding festivities in the Bahamas for Donald Trump Jr. Asked in the Oval Office about Kremlev’s involvement in his son’s celebrations, Trump said the arrangement is “totally allowed” and that it is “very common” to give wedding parties for others, according to the BBC. The broadcaster reported that Trump did not say how he knew the Putin ally had been repaid. The BBC said it has not independently verified that any payment was made and has contacted Trump Jr. and representatives for Kremlev for comment.
The BBC’s account follows a ProPublica investigation that reported Kremlev paid “hundreds of thousands of dollars” toward the wedding, and ethics watchdog groups’ comments about the appearance of a conflict of interest. Trump Jr. and his wife Bettina Trump had previously confirmed that Kremlev partially funded two nights of their three-day festivities on a private island as a gift, according to the BBC. Because Trump Jr. is a private citizen, it is not illegal for him to accept gifts from a foreign national, the broadcaster noted. Ethics watchdog groups have nevertheless said that the president’s son accepting an expensive gift from someone associated with a foreign head of state presents the appearance of a conflict of interest, even though Trump Jr. does not hold a U.S. government position.
Trump Jr.’s spokesperson told ProPublica that the president’s son and Kremlev were personal friends and did not have “a business relationship.” Kremlev’s office told ProPublica that he and Trump Jr. met a few years ago and “have a friendly relationship.”
The reporting adds to questions about the Trump family’s connections to Russia that have followed them since the 2016 presidential campaign, and that produced a special counsel investigation into a meeting Trump Jr. attended with a Russian operative at Trump Tower, the BBC reported.