Trump Jr. Spent Two Days Hunting in Mongolia With Kremlin Linked Businessman Umar Kremlev

A remote hunting trip with political connections

Donald Trump Jr. spent two days at a hunting camp in western Mongolia with Russian businessman Umar Kremlev in August 2026, during a trip that also included a meeting with Mongolia's president and $18,715 in recorded US spending on hotel rooms for Secret Service agents.

Kremlev, president of the International Boxing Association (IBA), arrived in Ulaanbaatar by charter aircraft from Kazakhstan on August 27 before joining the US president's eldest son in Uvs Province. He traveled with Arthur Martirosov, a partner at Voskhod, a venture capital fund under US sanctions.

The encounter brought together a member of President Donald Trump's family and a businessman whose connections reach into Russian President Vladimir Putin's security circle. It followed wedding celebrations in the Bahamas for which Kremlev reportedly paid hundreds of thousands of dollars, including expenses for an island rental and fireworks.

Trump Jr.'s representative said the men were personal friends with no business relationship. Their introduction came through a mutual acquaintance in hunting circles, the representative said.

The Mongolia trip became public on October 27 through an investigation drawing on accounts from guides and local officials, flight records, social media footage and federal spending documents. Its details connect three matters: a private friendship, the public cost of protecting a presidential family member and access to senior political figures.

After Kremlev left, Trump Jr. continued hunting in western Mongolia for about another week. He later returned to the capital and met President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, whose representatives gave differing descriptions of what the meeting covered.

How the two men reached the camp

Trump Jr. flew into Ulaanbaatar in late August and traveled several hundred kilometers to a camp in Uvs Province. Guides, drivers and cooks supported the small expedition, which also included longtime Republican donor Kevin Small, a previous companion on international hunting trips.

A place on a Mongolia hunting trip with Trump Jr. had been offered through a charity auction. One winner joined the expedition to hunt mountain sheep. Kremlev joined without participating in that auction.

Kremlev departed an IBA press conference in Kazakhstan and took an overnight charter flight to Mongolia on August 27. He and Martirosov then traveled to the camp, where Kremlev spent two days with Trump Jr. before returning to Ulaanbaatar.

The sequence of the visit and its later disclosure was:

• August 23 to September 6: Federal spending records covered hotel accommodation for an unspecified Secret Service "visit" to Mongolia.
• August 27: Kremlev flew from Kazakhstan to Ulaanbaatar before joining the hunting group.
• August 30: Kremlev posted two Telegram videos connected to the journey.
• After two days at the camp: Kremlev returned to the capital and subsequently traveled to Yakutsk for a boxing event.
• September: Kremlev's contribution to Trump Jr.'s wedding celebrations became public, prompting congressional scrutiny.
• October 27: Details of the Mongolia hunting encounter were published.

Videos showed the expedition, but not the two men together

Kremlev's August 30 Telegram posts included a video in which he said he was flying to Mongolia with Martirosov and another showing footage from the trip. A caption asked viewers how they felt about hunting.

Trump Jr. did not appear in the footage, although two organizers of his hunting trips were visible. A local participant said Trump Jr. and Kremlev tried to avoid being photographed together while staying at the camp.

Guides and officials supplied accounts of the visit, while flight records and social media material helped trace the travelers' movements. The two men subsequently went in different directions: Kremlev traveled to Yakutsk for an IBA event, and Trump Jr. continued his stay in Mongolia.

Rare sheep and another week of hunting

A guide said Trump Jr. killed an Altai argali during the expedition. The animal is a rare mountain sheep prized by trophy hunters for its large horns and described as endangered in accounts of the trip.

Trump Jr. had reportedly killed at least two other Altai argali in Mongolia since 2019. The latest animal would bring that reported total to at least three. His previous Mongolian hunting experience also appeared in the 2022 short film Lost in Mongolia.

After Kremlev's departure, Trump Jr. traveled to Bayan-Olgii Province, another part of western Mongolia, to hunt Siberian ibex. Ibex are wild goats adapted to steep mountain terrain, while argali are wild sheep.

The hunting continued for about another week before Trump Jr. returned to Ulaanbaatar. No details were given about the permits or conservation fees associated with the animals taken during this visit.

What the $18,715 government payment covered

The US Embassy in Ulaanbaatar paid $18,715 for hotel rooms for an unspecified Secret Service "visit" from August 23 to September 6, according to federal spending records. Trump Jr. traveled with agents because he is a member of the president's family.

The available reporting did not include the underlying itemized record.

The recorded expense was for accommodation associated with the protective detail. The hunting expedition, private travel arrangements and the agents' hotel booking are separate categories of spending; the specific public payment identified in the records concerned hotel rooms.

The booking period stretched across 15 calendar dates, beginning before Kremlev's August 27 arrival and continuing into September. That provides a broader window for the security operation than the two days the men spent together at the camp.

For US taxpayers, the concrete expense disclosed so far is the embassy's hotel payment. For the travelers, the Secret Service presence meant that a private expedition also required a government security operation far from the Mongolian capital.

Why Kremlev's Russian connections matter

Kremlev, 43, has led the IBA since 2020 and previously headed the Russian Boxing Federation beginning in 2017. His earlier surname was Lutfulloyev. Under his leadership, the international association received tens of millions of dollars from Gazprom, the Russian state controlled energy company.

The International Olympic Committee stripped the IBA of recognition in 2023, citing concerns that included a lack of financial transparency. That decision removed the association from its role in organizing Olympic boxing, linking Kremlev's international sporting position to a dispute over governance and money.

Kremlev's business interests also extend beyond boxing. In 2024, he became the owner of Rolf, a major car dealership previously owned by businessman Sergei Petrov. Putin had placed the company under temporary management before the ownership change.

Investigative reporting linked Kremlev's acquisition of Rolf to his friendship with Alexey Rubezhny, head of the Russian president's security service. The same relationship was reported to have helped him obtain assets in lottery and bookmaking businesses.

Ukraine imposed targeted sanctions on Kremlev in January 2023. In April 2026, Putin awarded him Russia's Order of Friendship, and he reportedly joined the Russian president's delegation to China the following month. Those connections help explain the attention surrounding his access to the US president's son.

A friendship that preceded Mongolia

Trump Jr. and Kremlev's first known public encounter took place at an IBA event in Istanbul in 2025, where boxer Manny Pacquiao was also present. Their relationship therefore preceded both the Mongolia expedition and the scrutiny of the wedding expenses.

Trump Jr.'s spokesperson described the friendship and its origins in a statement:

Don has made clear that he has a personal friendship, not a business relationship, with Umar. Their friendship is largely based on their shared love for hunting, fishing and the outdoors. It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that they went hunting together earlier this year.

Kremlev's presence at the camp fits the shared recreational interests described by the spokesperson. Martirosov's participation added another Russian business connection to the expedition through his role at Voskhod, the fund subject to US sanctions.

The relationship also included a financial element outside hunting: Kremlev's contribution to celebrations surrounding Trump Jr.'s marriage to Bettina Anderson in the Bahamas in May 2026.

Wedding payments brought congressional scrutiny

Kremlev reportedly covered hundreds of thousands of dollars in wedding celebration expenses, including private island rental and fireworks. The payments became public in September, several weeks after the Mongolia trip.

Democrats in Congress began examining the financial links between the businessman and the president's son. Attorney General Todd Blanche indicated that he would not investigate the wedding.

President Trump subsequently said his son had repaid Kremlev. Earlier descriptions of the president's response referred to repayment as something his son would make; Kremlev said in early October that the money had been returned.

The payment and repayment statements became central to scrutiny of a friendship that combined expensive celebrations, international travel and contact with political leaders. The congressional inquiry concerned those financial connections, while Trump Jr.'s spokesperson continued to describe the relationship as personal.

A presidential meeting with different explanations

Trump Jr. met Mongolian President Khurelsukh after returning to Ulaanbaatar. A Mongolian government representative initially posted photographs on Facebook with a description saying the discussion covered relations between the United States and Mongolia and possible business opportunities. The post was deleted shortly afterwards.

Trump Jr.'s representative described the encounter as informal and focused on outdoor recreation, with another description referring to conservation. A representative for Khurelsukh said: "The president had an informal meeting and a meal with Trump's son. Relations are on fairly good terms. They did not discuss politics or official visits."

Accounts described the meal as dinner, while Khurelsukh's representative called it lunch. The more consequential difference concerns its subject: the initial public post mentioned bilateral relations and business, while later statements presented it as a private conversation about shared interests.

Khurelsukh's participation gave Trump Jr. access to Mongolia's highest political office during a visit organized around hunting. The different descriptions leave readers with two stated purposes for the encounter, rather than a single agreed account.

The security concern centers on access

Holden Triplett, a former director of counterintelligence at the US National Security Council during Trump's first presidency, warned that Russian security agencies could seek to exploit relationships involving people close to the American president.

Triplett explained that his concern applied even when the people involved considered their friendship innocent:

It really doesn't matter if people have the most above board intentions. The moment the Russian security and intelligence services figure out someone has a relationship with anyone of high value, they will try to weaponize that.

Counterintelligence means identifying and resisting efforts by foreign intelligence services to obtain information or influence decisions. Triplett's warning centers on access: a friend or recreational companion can develop repeated contact with someone close to a national leader.

The Mongolia visit involved that kind of repeated contact, following the Istanbul appearance and the Bahamas celebrations. Trump Jr.'s position remains that Kremlev is a personal friend, while the disclosed travel, payments and political meeting explain why the relationship has drawn scrutiny beyond the hunting community.

Key Points

• Trump Jr. and IBA president Umar Kremlev spent two days together at a hunting camp in western Mongolia in August 2026.
• Kremlev arrived from Kazakhstan with Arthur Martirosov, a partner at the US sanctioned Voskhod fund.
• Federal records listed $18,715 in embassy spending on hotel rooms for an unspecified Secret Service "visit" from August 23 to September 6.
• A guide said Trump Jr. killed an Altai argali before continuing his trip to hunt ibex.
• Kremlev reportedly paid part of Trump Jr.'s Bahamas wedding celebration expenses. President Trump and Kremlev later said the money was repaid.
• Trump Jr.'s spokesperson denied business ties and described a friendship based on hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation.
• Trump Jr. also met Mongolia's president, with differing descriptions of whether business and bilateral relations were discussed.