Bettina Trump has confirmed that part of her and Donald Trump Jr's May wedding was funded by Umar Kremlev, a Russian businessman with close ties to Vladimir Putin, after investigative outlet ProPublica reported that Kremlev paid "hundreds of thousands of dollars" for the celebrations. Because Donald Trump Jr is a private citizen rather than a government official, accepting such gifts from a foreign national is not illegal, but ethics watchdogs argue it still creates the appearance of a conflict of interest given Kremlev's proximity to the Kremlin, particularly amid long-running scrutiny of the Trump family's Russia ties.

The couple married on a private Bahamian island before a two-day celebration on a separate island reportedly costing around $100,000 a night to rent, with Kremlev also covering extras such as a roughly $70,000 fireworks display. Kremlev heads the Gazprom-backed International Boxing Association, which was suspended by the Olympic Committee, and has received Russia's Order of Friendship from Putin. Both sides describe the relationship as a personal friendship rather than a business one, but critics including CREW's Jordan Libowitz noted that either Trump Jr or his billionaire father could easily have covered the costs themselves, questioning why they instead accepted such a lavish gift from a Kremlin-linked figure.