A Russian businessman who reportedly helped bankroll Donald Trump Jr.’s lavish Bahamas wedding has ties to an organization sanctioned by Ukraine over allegations involving the forced relocation of Ukrainian children — creating an uncomfortable contrast with first lady Melania Trump’s efforts to reunite displaced children with their families.
Umar Kremlev, president of the International Boxing Association and a figure with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on Trump Jr.’s May wedding to Bettina Anderson, according to an investigation published Monday by ProPublica.
The spending reportedly included renting a private island for the wedding reception, paying for a massive fireworks display and helping organize portions of the three-day celebration.
Kremlev also attended the festivities along with several other Russian guests, ProPublica reported.
But another part of Kremlev’s background is now drawing attention.
ProPublica reported that Kremlev has close connections to Healthy Fatherland, a Russian health and youth sports organization sanctioned by Ukraine.
The group is run by Ekaterina Leshchinskaya, the twin sister of Kremlev’s 23-year-old wife, according to the investigation.
Ukraine has accused Healthy Fatherland of involvement in programs connected to the deportation and forced relocation of Ukrainians, including children, from Russian-occupied territory.
The broader issue has been condemned internationally. A United Nations commission said in March that Russian authorities committed crimes against humanity through the deportation and forcible transfer of Ukrainian children and their enforced disappearance. The commission said it had verified the transfer or deportation of more than 1,200 children.
That connection could prove especially awkward within the Trump family because Melania Trump has made the return of Ukrainian children one of her most visible international causes.
The first lady has worked with Russian and Ukrainian officials in an effort to reunite children separated from their families during the war.
“Every reunion is a reminder that compassion, dignity, and family can transcend even the darkest of times: war,” Melania said in a July statement.
The United Nations General Assembly has also demanded that Russia safely and unconditionally return Ukrainian children who were forcibly transferred or deported.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Putin and Russian children’s rights commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova in 2023, saying judges found reasonable grounds to believe they bore responsibility for the alleged unlawful deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children. Russia has rejected accusations surrounding the transfers.
Meanwhile, questions are being raised about why Kremlev would spend so heavily on the wedding of the president’s son.
Trump Jr. has not publicly disclosed Kremlev’s attendance at the wedding, according to ProPublica, and Kremlev did not appear in photographs Trump Jr. and Anderson released from the celebration.
A spokesperson for Trump Jr. described Kremlev as a “personal friend of Don” and said the two do not have a business relationship. The spokesperson did not dispute ProPublica’s reporting about Kremlev paying wedding expenses.
Kremlev’s office similarly said the two men have a friendly relationship and first met several years ago.
His office also said Kremlev does not discuss politics with his American friends.
Still, former FBI official Frank Montoya Jr. told ProPublica that such an expensive gift to the son of a sitting president inevitably raises concerns.
“If I’m paying for your wedding, at some point, you’re going to owe me something,” Montoya said.
Neither President Donald Trump nor Melania attended the Bahamas wedding.
For Melania, the revelations put an unusual spotlight on two very different relationships surrounding the Trump family: her public campaign to bring Ukrainian children home and her stepson’s friendship with a Russian figure whose extended circle has been linked to an organization accused by Ukraine of assisting Moscow’s relocation programs.
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