Russian oligarch Umar Kremlev, close to Russian dictator Putin, secretly paid for the wedding of Donald Trump Jr., the US president’s eldest son. A large group of Russians were also among the guests.

This is stated in the investigation by ProPublica, which reviewed documents and spoke with people who were at the wedding,  Censor.NET reports .

What is known about the wedding?

Kremlev reportedly paid for the rental of one of the private islands where the reception was held and where guests slept. He also paid for the fireworks, and his team helped plan the wedding.

The wedding payments came from a Dubai-based entity linked to the International Boxing Organization (IBA), which is headed by Kremlev and is embroiled in a series of scandals. The IBA itself is funded by Russian state energy company Gazprom.

Russians among the guests

Kremlev was also among the guests at Trump’s son’s wedding — as ProPublica writes, he stood with a large group of guests “whose presence surprised the other guests” and who spoke Russian.

According to ProPublica, the guest list included about 50 people in total. Among them were Trump Jr.’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Eric Trump.

• Chinese state media reported that a few days before Trump Jr.’s wedding, Kremlev was in China as part of a delegation accompanying Putin. Before that, Putin awarded him a state award, the Order of Friendship.

What do Trump Jr. and Kremlin say?

A representative for Trump Jr. did not deny that Kremlev paid for the wedding, explaining that he is a “personal friend” of the president’s son. They allegedly met through a mutual friend in the hunting world and became close through their love of outdoor activities and boxing – Kremlev heads the International Boxing Association, which is funded by the Russian state energy company Gazprom.

• The Kremlin spokesman also confirmed the “friendly relations” between the Russian oligarch and Donald Trump Jr., who first met “several years ago.” The men met through a mutual friend in the hunting world.
• They also stated that the oligarch “never discussed political issues with any of his American friends and acquaintances.”

Regarding IBA’s cooperation with Gazprom, Kremlev stated that the sponsorship contract “ended a long time ago,” but people close to the organization suggested to journalists that the money is still coming from Russia.

The organization believes that it is unclear why the Russian oligarch helped pay for Trump Jr.’s wedding. Open-source data suggests that Trump Jr. could well have paid for the wedding himself: Forbes recently estimated his fortune at approximately $300 million. 

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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