Donald Trump Jr., son of the US President, spent two days this summer on a hunting trip in Mongolia with Russian businessman Umar Kremlev, the Financial Times revealed. The same businessman paid for part of his wedding celebrations. The publication is recounted by "Agentstvo".
Information about Trump Jr. and Kremlev's presence in Mongolia was confirmed by guides and local officials. In addition, FT examined flight tracking data, social media posts, and publicly available documents.
In late August, Trump Jr. flew to Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, and traveled several hundred kilometers to a camp in Uvs Aimag (province), FT writes. There he stayed with a small group of hunting guides, drivers, and cooks.
As a member of the president's family, Trump Jr. travels under the protection of the US Secret Service. According to federal documents, the US Embassy in Ulaanbaatar paid $18,715 for hotel rooms as part of a Secret Service "visit" from August 23 to September 6.
Meanwhile, Kremlev, who heads the International Boxing Association (IBA), left an IBA press conference in Kazakhstan on August 27 and took a night charter flight to Ulaanbaatar, FT writes. From there he headed west to Trump Jr.'s camp.
Kremlev, according to FT, was accompanied by Artur Martirosyan, a Russian businessman and partner of the "Vostok" venture fund, which is under US sanctions.
During their stay at the camp, Trump Jr. and Kremlev tried not to be photographed together, one of the trip participants said. However, Kremlev posted a video on his Telegram channel showing his group preparing for hunting at dawn. Trump Jr. is not in the video, but two of his trip organizers appear in the frame.
After spending two days at the camp with Trump Jr., Kremlev returned to Ulaanbaatar and then traveled to another IBA boxing match in Yakutsk, FT writes. Trump Jr. stayed in Mongolia for another week and went from Uvs Aimag to Bayan-Ulgii Aimag to hunt Siberian ibex.
During the trip, Trump Jr., according to one of the guides, killed an Altai argali (an endangered species). Since 2019, the president's son has shot at least two more argali during hunting trips to Mongolia, FT writes.
The trip also included long-time Republican Party donor Kevin Small, who had previously hunted with Trump Jr.
After the hunt, the son of the US president returned to Ulaanbaatar and held a series of meetings, including with Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh, FT writes. A representative of the Mongolian government posted photos on Facebook and wrote that the parties discussed US-Mongolian relations and potential business opportunities. However, the post was soon deleted. A representative for Trump Jr. stated that the meeting was unofficial and the participants mostly discussed outdoor recreation.
Kremlev and Martirosyan did not respond to requests for comment.
Kremlev is a friend of Alexey Rubezhnoy, head of the Russian Presidential Security Service.
The meeting in Mongolia took place after Kremlev attended several events in May as part of Trump Jr.'s wedding celebrations on a private Caribbean island and paid for part of the expenses. ProPublica was the first to report on the Russian's participation in Trump Jr.'s wedding. After this, the president stated that his son had returned the money to Kremlev.
The first known meeting between Kremlev and Trump Jr. took place last year at an IBA event in Istanbul. On stage with legendary Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao, Trump Jr. called Kremlev "not just a leader, but also a friend."
In January 2009, during a helicopter crash in Altai while hunting red-listed argali, Alexander Kosopkin, the Russian President's plenipotentiary representative to the State Duma, died. He was later accused of poaching.
"Doctor", lawyer, man with a camera and several strong guys. In Petropavlivska Borshchahivka, Russian special services took advantage of a specific Ukrainian wartime business 1515
Comments