According to a ProPublica investigation published today, September 14, and substantially confirmed by the couple on Instagram, Umar Kremlev took on several hundred thousand dollars of expenses during the wedding celebrations of Donald Trump Jr. and Bettina Anderson in the Bahamas, which ran through May 24, 2026.
- Renting a private island, offered at around $100,000 per night, was paid for by the Russian oligarch. Kremlev also covered the fireworks, for which the vendor charges approximately $70,000 for this type of display.
- According to the investigation, the payments would have passed through IB Challenger, a Dubai-based entity linked to the International Boxing Association of which Umar Kremlev has served as president since December 2020.
- The IBA had long been heavily financed by Gazprom. The state-controlled gas giant was removed from the Olympic movement by the IOC in 2023 due to governance and corruption issues.
Umar Kremlev, originally from Tajikistan, was born Umar Lutfulloev. In 2010, at 28, he had his Tajik surname changed to a name with Russian resonance, which has the advantage of evoking the Kremlin and of erasing his convictions for extortion in 2004 and for assault in 2007 .
- A former boxer, he is a former member of the Night Wolves, a Kremlin-backed motorcycle club where he held leadership positions.
- According to Chinese state media, he was part of the official Russian delegation during Vladimir Putin’s visit to China in 2023.
- The previous month, Putin awarded him the Order of Friendship, a state decoration created in 1994 and regularly bestowed on foreign figures deemed useful to Moscow, such as Steven Seagal.
- He is personally sanctioned by Ukraine for his proximity to Putin and the Russian security services. The organization “Healthy Homeland,” led by his sister-in-law, is targeted by Kyiv for its alleged role in a program to abduct Ukrainian children from the occupied territories under the guise of “rehabilitation” .
- On Telegram, on November 20, 2025, he posted a revisionist video praising Joseph Stalin accompanied by the following message: “Watch this video, and perhaps your opinion will change. Do not believe everything you hear. Here are all the facts about Joseph Stalin.” .
Donald Trump’s eldest son has often been notably critical of Volodymyr Zelensky, whom he described again in December 2025 as “one of the greatest marketing experts of all time” and whom he accused of sabotaging “the peace process.”
Among the guests at the wedding was also Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and the groom’s brother-in-law, who, together with Steve Witkoff, leads the administration’s negotiations with Moscow. Both were hosted by Putin at the Kremlin on September 5.