Russian Tycoon Kremlev Says Trump Jr. Paid Back Wedding Tab

Umar Kremlev said US President Donald Trump’s son had repaid the money the Russian tycoon had spent on post-wedding celebrations he hosted as a gift.

“He paid it back, but I didn’t understand why because I don’t consider it some kind of special gift,” Kremlev told reporters in Istanbul on Tuesday. He also said he hadn’t attended the wedding itself, but had joined other festivities with mutual friends.

Until recently, Kremlev was little known outside boxing circles and a relatively small group of Russian business and political insiders.

That changed abruptly when it emerged he was a friend of the Trump family and the man who picked up the tab for two nights of celebrations in the Bahamas after the May wedding of Donald Trump Jr. and Bettina Trump.

The couple had a private marriage ceremony in May and then a celebration the following weekend in the Bahamas for which expenses were covered by Kremlev.

The episode prompted calls for scrutiny of the family’s ties to the Russian businessman. In September, Trump said that his son was repaying Kremlev and downplayed the matter.

Kremlev, 43, is president of the International Boxing Association, or IBA, the Lausanne, Switzerland-based body that oversees international competitions and sets rules and standards for the sport. Prior to that, he headed the Russian Boxing Federation starting from 2017.

Read More: Trump Says Son Will Repay Russian Oligarch for Wedding Party

While some accounts have described Kremlev as an oligarch, a label typically associated with the wealthy businessmen who amassed vast fortunes and political influence during Russia’s post-Soviet transition, he doesn’t quite fit the traditional mold.

His business interests have spanned several sectors including lotteries and betting. Kremlev is known to have ties to figures close to the Kremlin, but he isn’t a member of President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle.