Media learned why Putin-linked businessman paid for Trump Jr.'s wedding

Russian businessman and head of the International Boxing Association (IBA) Umar Kremlev, who has close ties with Russian authorities, paid for a significant part of the celebrations after Donald Trump Jr.'s wedding. This has renewed questions about what interests Kremlev is trying to advance in the United States.

The Telegraph reports. The circumstances of the event's financing were previously disclosed in detail by a ProPublica investigation.

Trump Jr. and Bettina Anderson were married in the Bahamas in May. According to journalists, Kremlev spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on wedding weekend events — in particular, he paid for the rental of one of the private islands and a large-scale fireworks display. The couple themselves later confirmed that Kremlev organized two nights of celebrations for them, calling it an "extremely generous wedding gift from a friend."

This concerns not the payment for the ceremony itself. U.S. President Donald Trump also said that the Russian businessman paid specifically for the after-wedding party. Trump later said that, as far as he knew, Kremlev was reimbursed for the expenses, but he did not provide details.

Kremlev heads the IBA — an organization that lost recognition by the International Olympic Committee in 2023 due to years of complaints about governance, financing, and transparency. As a result, IBA lost the ability to be responsible for Olympic boxing.

Restoring influence in the Olympic movement remains one of Kremlev's publicly stated goals. After Donald Trump took office in January 2025, he sent an open letter to the American president proposing cooperation ahead of the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. According to ProPublica, Kremlev saw the Trump administration as a potential ally in his conflict with the IOC.

Connections with Trump Jr. began to become public later. In September 2025, the U.S. president's son participated in an IBA forum in Istanbul along with Kremlev. After the event, the association stated that cooperation would not be limited to symbolic gestures and would be followed by new joint initiatives. IBA itself called their interaction the beginning of a new stage of cooperation.

At the same time, Kremlev's structure is trying to expand its presence directly in the American market. In 2026, IBA held a bare-knuckle boxing tournament in Miami, considering the United States as one of the directions for further development of its commercial competitions.

Kremlev also has documented ties with the Russian government. He was part of the official Russian delegation during Vladimir Putin's foreign trip, and in April 2026 received the Order of Friendship from him. IBA was previously financed by the Russian state-owned Gazprom, although the organization claims that the relevant contract ended long ago.

At the same time, no evidence has been presented that payment for the wedding events was connected to a specific agreement or obligation on the part of Trump Jr. Kremlev's representatives claim that the relationship between the men is of a friendly nature and they do not discuss political issues. Trump Jr. and his wife also rejected suggestions of a political motive behind the gift.

The story has already elicited a political reaction in Washington. Senior Democratic member of the House Oversight Committee Robert Garcia requested documents on Trump Jr.'s financial ties with Kremlev, citing possible risks of conflicts of interest and national security.

Based on materials from: The Telegraph, ProPublica, IBA