The story

Russian businessman Umar Kremlev, who has ties to the Kremlin and is president of the International Boxing Association, paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for Donald Trump Jr.'s wedding after-party in the Bahamas in May, according to ProPublica. Records and sources cited by the outlet show Kremlev paid over $100,000 to rent a private island where guests stayed and $70,000 for a fireworks display. The payments came from an entity in Dubai affiliated with the IBA, which is financed by Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom.

Bettina Trump, the president's son's wife, posted a statement on Instagram saying the couple married privately on May 22 surrounded only by family. She said the weekend festivities that followed had been planned in advance as a fun weekend with friends, and that Kremlev, whom she called a dear friend, very generously hosted two nights of celebrations after their wedding as an extraordinarily generous wedding gift. She said friendship does not require a political motive. A spokesperson for Trump Jr. did not dispute the payments and called Kremlev a personal friend, according to ProPublica.

Rep. Robert Garcia, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, asked what Kremlev got in return for spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on the president's son and said Congress needs answers. Ethics experts cited by The New York Times said a president's family is generally expected to avoid personal and pricey gifts from foreign actors, particularly from an adversary like Russia, because of concerns that the giver could eventually expect something in return. Putin awarded Kremlev Russia's Order of Friendship at the Kremlin in April, according to ProPublica.