Trump Jr’s Bahamas wedding weekend bankrolled by Russian oligarch, Putin ally

Donald Trump Jr.'s wife, Bettina, has confirmed that a Russian oligarch close to President Vladimir Putin helped fund their wedding weekend celebration in the Bahamas. The three-day celebration, which took place across two exclusive private islands in May, was partially bankrolled by Umar Kremlev, according to a report by ProPublica cited by The Guardian US.

Bettina Trump described the funding as a gift from a "dear friend" and said that it was used for "two incredible nights of celebration", but not the actual wedding ceremony. According to Global News and The Sydney Morning Herald, she emphasized that "friendship doesn't require a political motive".

The revelation has raised fresh ethics questions involving the first family. A top Democrat has demanded answers over the involvement of a Russian oligarch with ties to Putin in the wedding funding.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Sydney Morning Herald, The Insider, Global News, The Guardian US, South China Morning Post — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.