A Friend in Need…

‍ Graphic by Mia Buchanan

It’s all pretty normal, right? Rent out a private Bahamian island for your wedding celebration. And a Russian oligarch foots the bill.

Meet Umar Kremlev, who generously gifted this fantasy fête to Donald Trump, Jr. and bride Bettina Anderson in May. What a guy.

Umar’s given surname is Lutfulloyev. He changed it to Kremlev, meaning “of the Kremlin.” Perhaps if you were looking to curry favor in Moscow but were born in Tajikistan, had a biker gang history and a criminal record of battery and extortion, you’d change your name too.

It worked. In 2021, Vladimir Putin appointed Kremlev's company, TsUPIS, the sole operator of all bookmaker betting in Russia and, conveniently, Kremlev also controlled the Unified Gambling Regulator, overseeing TsUPIS’s betting activities. Gee, hard to see how Umar got filthy rich.

With Putin’s blessing, Umar was elected president of the International Boxing Association in 2020 and proceeded to name Gazprom, Russia’s state-owned energy company, IBA’s sole sponsor. Then he suspended Ukraine from the IBA.

Not surprisingly, the fuddy-duddies found something smelly about Umar’s largesse toward DJT Jr. Jordan Libowitz of CREW, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, snickered that "People don't just give hundreds of thousands of dollars to a random acquaintance without wanting something." Even GOP Senator John Curtis is flummoxed: “A toaster is a wedding gift. A private-island party paid for a Putin-connected oligarch is something else.”

Curtis wants Judiciary Committee chair Chuck Grassley to subpoena Donnie to a hearing to learn more.

Nothing is yet scheduled.