Bettina Anderson Confirms Russian Oligarch Funded Post-Wedding Event in Bahamas
Bettina Anderson confirms Russian oligarch Umar Kremlev hosted their post-wedding celebration in the Bahamas as a generous gift, dismissing conspiracy claims.
POLICY WIRE — Washington, United States — Bettina Anderson addressed social media on Monday to acknowledge that Russian businessman Umar Kremlev financed a portion of their post-wedding events on a private island located in the Bahamas, describing the arrangement as an extraordinarily generous wedding gift.
The statement followed a report published Monday morning by ProPublica with the headline, Donald Trump Jr.’s Bahamas wedding was secretly bankrolled by Russian oligarch close to Putin.
Anderson identified the Russian businessman as their dear friend and noted that he provided two consecutive evenings of festivities following their marriage ceremony.
Kremlev serves as the secretary general of the Russian Boxing Federation and maintains a known alliance with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
According to Anderson, the formal wedding ceremony itself was restricted exclusively to family members.
She added that President Trump was unable to attend the gathering due to his official responsibilities in Washington.
The weekend that followed had actually been planned well in advance as a fun weekend with friends, she stated in her social media post.
It was never intended to be our wedding weekend, Anderson explained.
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When our original wedding plans changed, we simply decided to get married before it and arrived at an already planned weekend as newlyweds.
Our dear friend Umar very generously hosted two incredible nights of celebrations for us AFTER our wedding, she continued.
It was an extraordinarily generous wedding gift from a friend, and something for which we were and remain incredibly grateful.
Public records do not clearly establish how the couple initially formed an acquaintance with Kremlev.
Addressing the connections, Anderson wrote in her post that friendship does not require a political motive.
We are fortunate to have wonderful friends from all over the world, and we will never be embarrassed or apologetic about being grateful for them, she said, while emphasizing there was NO CONSPIRACY.
Representatives for Kremlev issued a statement to ProPublica confirming that he and Trump Jr. maintain a friendly relationship and first met a couple of years ago.
The official statement also asserted that Kremlev has never discussed political matters with any of his American friends and acquaintances.
Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)
