Russia's Best Friend in India Just Got a $300 Billion Deal From Trump

Nov 1

The Wedding Bookmaker The Dubai company that paid for Donald Trump Jr.'s wedding party banks the IBA's hotel bills and wants a US trademark covering betting and gambling. Nobody can say who funds it. In September ProPublica reported that Umar Kremlev, president of the International Boxing Associat...Read more

The Wedding Bookmaker The Dubai company that paid for Donald Trump Jr.'s wedding party banks the IBA's hotel bills and wants a US trademark covering betting and gambling. Nobody can say who funds it. In September ProPublica reported that Umar Kremlev, president of the International Boxing Association, paid hundreds of thousands of dollars toward Donald Trump Jr.'s May wedding celebrations in the Bahamas, a private island rental and fireworks included, through IB Challenger, a company in Dubai. The Kyiv Post's Leo Chiu reported this week that IB Challenger holds two Dubai free zone licenses, DMCC-881841 for sports event marketing and DMCC-975261 for trading in sportswear and equipment, that an internal IBA briefing described a $10 million, five year sponsorship contract with the company, that a later briefing said all IBA sponsorship contracts would be handled through it and that its funding source could not be identified. The IBA's team delegations handbook for its December 2025 men's world championships in Dubai instructs national teams to pay their hotel charges into a US dollar account held by IB CHALLENGER DMCC. On September 15, 2025, IB CHALLENGER DMCC applied to the US Patent and Trademark Office for the mark IBA.PRO, serial number 79437982, claiming services that include betting and gambling services in connection with sports and online betting services. It was approved for publication in May 2026. In July the IBA staged its first US bare knuckle event in Miami with Jon Jones as host. The Financial Times reported that Trump Jr. spent two days with Kremlev at a hunting camp in Mongolia's Uvs province in late August, that the US embassy paid for Secret Service hotel rooms from August 23 to September 6, that Kremlev was convicted of extortion and battery as a young man and has close ties to Putin's personal security service, and that the Trump brothers have had at least 18 encounters with foreign officials or politicians since January 2025. A Mongolian government spokesman who posted photos of Trump Jr.'s dinner with the president removed them and told the FT someone on Trump Jr.'s side asked him to. Read the October 30 edition of American Princelings at dekleptocracy.substack.com Featured link https://dekleptocracy.substack.com/p/american-princelings-705 Leo Chiu, Kyiv Post, Trump Jr.'s Russian wedding sponsor, what we know about IB Challenger, Oct 29 2026 https://www.kyivpost.com/post/88580 USPTO via Markinton, IBA.PRO trademark, serial 79437982 https://markinton.com/trademark/iba-pro-79437982 Sources Leo Chiu, Kyiv Post, Explained, Trump Jr.'s Russian wedding sponsor, what we know about IB Challenger, October 29 2026 https://www.kyivpost.com/post/88580 Meduza on ProPublica, Russian oligarch Umar Kremlev spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to help fund Donald Trump Jr.'s Bahamas wedding, September 14 2026 https://meduza.io/en/news/2026/09/14/russian-oligarch-umar-kremlev-spent-hundreds-of-thousands-of-dollars-to-help-fund-donald-trump-jr-s-bahamas-wedding International Boxing Association, Team Delegations Handbook, IBA Men's World Boxing Championships Dubai 2025, section 8C, accommodation payment conditions https://www.iba.sport/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Team-Delegations-Handbook-MWCH-Dubai-2025-v1.0-1.pdf USPTO record via Markinton, IBA.PRO, serial number 79437982, applicant IB CHALLENGER DMCC, filed September 15 2025 https://markinton.com/trademark/iba-pro-79437982 International Boxing Association, IBA Bare Knuckle to make historic United States debut in Miami, June 13 2026 https://www.iba.sport/news/iba-bare-knuckle-to-make-historic-united-states-debut-in-miami/ Peter Andringa, Financial Times via To Vima, Inside Donald Trump Jr.'s Mongolian hunting trip with a Kremlin linked oligarch, October 27 2026 https://www.tovima.com/financial-times/inside-donald-trump-jrs-mongolian-hunting-trip-with-a-kremlin-linked-oligarch/ Peter Andringa, Financial Times via To Vima, The Trump sons' global network, money, influence and the family business, October 28 2026 https://www.tovima.com/financial-times/the-trump-sons-global-network-money-influence-and-the-family-business/ Dekleptocracy, American Princelings, October 30 2026 https://dekleptocracy.substack.com/p/american-princelings-705

Nov 1

Sanctioned in London, Welcome in New York Three tankers of Russian diesel are heading for US ports under Trump's deal with Putin. One is on the UK, EU and Canadian sanctions lists. A Treasury license runs to April 2027. On October 9 President Trump announced a diesel deal with Vladimir Putin, and ...Read more

Sanctioned in London, Welcome in New York Three tankers of Russian diesel are heading for US ports under Trump's deal with Putin. One is on the UK, EU and Canadian sanctions lists. A Treasury license runs to April 2027. On October 9 President Trump announced a diesel deal with Vladimir Putin, and the same day the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control issued General License 135, authorizing the sale, delivery and importation into the United States of diesel fuel of Russian origin through April 7, 2027. A week later the president waived nearly all of the Russia sanctions law the Senate had passed 86 to 11. On October 22 the Agioi Fanendes, a Maltese flagged tanker managed by the Greek company Eastmed, loaded 40,000 metric tons of ultra low sulfur diesel at Primorsk and set course for New York, due November 7, Reuters reported. The buyer is not known. Kpler data cited by the Financial Times show it would be the first Russian diesel cargo to reach the US since July 2023. Two more tankers followed, the Financial Times reported. The Leruo, flagged in Sierra Leone and owned in Hong Kong, loaded about 40,000 tons at Primorsk on October 16 and is signaling an arrival on the US Atlantic coast around November 11. The United Kingdom, the European Union and Canada sanctioned it in 2025 over Russian cargoes and practices that included switching off its location transponder and ship to ship transfers. It passed through British waters on the way. A third, the 20 year old Russian tanker Talisman, is due November 9. Together the three carry about 924,000 barrels, roughly a third of a day's diesel use by US transportation. Russia's deputy prime minister says exports can return to 3 to 3.5 million tons a month by year end, and Putin's envoy Kirill Dmitriev says the US Treasury asked Russia's sovereign wealth fund to help resolve payment issues. Read the October 30 edition of American Princelings at dekleptocracy.substack.com Featured link https://dekleptocracy.substack.com/p/american-princelings-705 Reuters via ThePrint, First Russian diesel from Putin-Trump deal heading for US, data shows, Oct 23 2026 https://theprint.in/world/exclusive-first-russian-diesel-from-putin-trump-deal-heading-for-us-data-shows/3080009/ OFAC, General License No. 135, Oct 9 2026 https://ofac.treasury.gov/media/937216/download Sources Office of Foreign Assets Control, General License No. 135, Authorizing transactions related to diesel fuel of Russian Federation origin, October 9 2026 https://ofac.treasury.gov/media/937216/download Reuters via ThePrint, Exclusive, First Russian diesel from Putin-Trump deal heading for US, data shows, October 23 2026 https://theprint.in/world/exclusive-first-russian-diesel-from-putin-trump-deal-heading-for-us-data-shows/3080009/ Martin Fornusek, Kyiv Independent, First tanker with Russian diesel under Trump deal heads to US, Reuters reports, October 23 2026 https://kyivindependent.com/first-tanker-with-russian-diesel-under-trump-deal-heads-to-us-reuters-reports/ Doloresz Katanich, Euronews, First Russian diesel shipment is heading to US under Trump-Putin deal, October 23 2026 https://www.euronews.com/2026/10/23/first-russian-diesel-shipment-is-heading-to-us-under-trump-putin-deal UNITED24 Media on the Financial Times, Three Russian diesel tankers head to US, including one sanctioned in Europe, October 27 2026 https://united24media.com/world/three-russian-diesel-tankers-head-to-us-including-one-sanctioned-in-europe-23847 The Maritime Executive, Sanctioned tanker bound for US passes through UK waters, October 26 2026 https://maritime-executive.com/article/sanctioned-tanker-bound-for-us-passes-through-uk-waters Taryn Pedler, Newsweek, Three tankers with Russian diesel heading to US, October 28 2026 https://www.newsweek.com/three-tankers-with-russian-diesel-heading-to-us-12629668 Alex Raufoglu, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Trump waives Graham Act sanctions on Russia before they take effect, October 17 2026 https://www.rferl.org/a/trump-waives-graham-act-sanctions-on-russia/33878335.html Kathryn Watson, CBS News, Witkoff meets Putin outside St. Petersburg, October 21 2026 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/steve-witkoff-putin-humanitarian-backlash/ Dekleptocracy, American Princelings, October 30 2026 https://dekleptocracy.substack.com/p/american-princelings-705

Nov 1

The Barbados Shell The first Venezuelan crude landed in Texas. ProPublica has the contract. A Barbados parent, hidden owners, one named director under investigation abroad and a gag on the deal itself. On October 27 the first Venezuelan crude under the US deal, a cargo the president described as o...Read more

The Barbados Shell The first Venezuelan crude landed in Texas. ProPublica has the contract. A Barbados parent, hidden owners, one named director under investigation abroad and a gag on the deal itself. On October 27 the first Venezuelan crude under the US deal, a cargo the president described as one million barrels, reached Corpus Christi, where President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a rally. The US government will sell the oil to refineries run by Exxon Mobil and Citgo, the seller's release says. The seller is North American Blue Energy Partners, run by Venezuelan billionaire Alejandro Betancourt. ProPublica's Cate Brown, Aaron C. Davis and Sebastian Rotella obtained the 18 page agreement, signed by Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The US takes a 35% stake, paying nothing up front, in a parent company registered in Barbados, where almost nothing in corporate law can force the owners' identities into public view. Betancourt is the only board member named, removing him takes five of seven votes and the board serves an initial term of 15 years. A confidentiality clause bars the company from disclosing the agreement's existence and terms. Disputes go to federal court in the Northern District of Texas, and Venezuela cannot challenge the deal in its own courts. The 100 year license the administration touts appears nowhere in the agreement, and Venezuelan law caps concessions at 25 years. Betancourt has faced money laundering investigations in three countries and has been charged in none. A 2018 federal complaint in Miami named him as an uncharged co-conspirator in a $1.2 billion scheme, the Washington Post reported, and Rudy Giuliani lobbied the Justice Department for him in 2019 a month after staying at his Spanish estate. After Maduro's capture, the State Department and the Justice Department contacted Swiss authorities and signaled he should be allowed to travel. On May 28, Ballard Partners registered to lobby for Concord Partners LLC on the handling of Venezuelan business interests, Senate records show, billing $410,000 across two quarters for contacts at the White House, State, Treasury and Energy. Concord appears to be the same Florida company that guaranteed Alina Habba more than $50 million. Read the October 30 edition of American Princelings at dekleptocracy.substack.com Featured link https://dekleptocracy.substack.com/p/american-princelings-705 ProPublica via Raw Story, The secret terms of Trump's Venezuelan oil deal, Oct 21 2026 https://www.rawstory.com/trump-venezuela-2678118814/ Senate Lobbying Disclosure, Ballard Partners for Concord Partners LLC https://lda.gov/api/v1/filings/?client_name=concord+partners&registrant_name=ballard Sources Cate Brown, Aaron C. Davis and Sebastian Rotella, ProPublica via Raw Story, The secret terms of Trump's Venezuelan oil deal, October 21 2026 https://www.rawstory.com/trump-venezuela-2678118814/ La Voce di New York, The secret text of Trump's biggest oil deal in history with Venezuela, October 22 2026 https://lavocedinewyork.com/en/news/2026/10/22/the-secret-text-of-trumps-biggest-oil-deal-in-history-with-venezuela/ EFE via El Diario, Texas recibió el primer cargamento de petróleo venezolano del acuerdo entre EE UU y Nabep, October 27 2026 https://eldiario.com/2026/10/27/petroleo-venezolano-texas-2/ Axios, The secret history of Trump's Venezuelan oil baron, September 1 2026 https://www.axios.com/2026/09/01/trump-venezuela-oil-baron Isabella Cota, ICIJ, White House pick to run Venezuela oil deal under investigation in two countries, September 3 2026 https://www.icij.org/investigations/fincen-files/white-house-pick-to-run-venezuela-oil-deal-under-investigation-in-two-countries/ Michael Peuker, RTS via SWI swissinfo.ch, Did the United States put pressure on the Swiss judiciary on behalf of a powerful Venezuelan businessman, September 2 2026 https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/best-of-srg-content/did-the-united-states-put-pressure-on-the-swiss-judiciary-on-behalf-of-a-powerful-venezuelan-businessman/91984659 The Daily Beast on the Washington Post, Giuliani lobbied Justice Department on behalf of wealthy Venezuelan who hosted him at Spanish estate, November 26 2019 https://www.thedailybeast.com/giuliani-lobbied-justice-department-on-behalf-of-wealthy-venezuelan-who-hosted-him-at-spanish-estate-report Senate Office of Public Records, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings, Ballard Partners for Concord Partners LLC, registration effective May 28 2026, Q2 and Q3 2026 reports https://lda.gov/api/v1/filings/?client_name=concord+partners&registrant_name=ballard Tyler Pager, New York Times via GV Wire, A billionaire wanted a Trump pardon. His family gave Alina Habba a $50 million deal, October 21 2026 https://gvwire.com/2026/10/21/a-billionaire-wanted-a-trump-pardon-his-family-gave-alina-habba-a-50-million-deal/ Nick Schwellenbach, Project On Government Oversight, K Street cashes in on US control of Venezuelan oil, 2026 https://www.pogo.org/investigates/k-street-cashes-in-on-u-s-control-of-venezuelan-oil Bloomberg Government, Top DC lobbying firm Ballard Partners to open Venezuela office, July 29 2026 https://news.bgov.com/bloomberg-government-news/top-dc-lobbying-firm-ballard-partners-to-open-venezuela-office Florida Phoenix, Former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi now a Washington lobbyist, January 2019 https://floridaphoenix.com/briefs/former-fl-attorney-general-pam-bondi-now-a-washington-lobbyist/ Dekleptocracy, American Princelings, October 30 2026 https://dekleptocracy.substack.com/p/american-princelings-705

Oct 30

Who Paid for the Data Centers $148.4M from utilities and hyperscalers to 1,387 state politicians in 16 states, matched to 112 bills, orders and elections. Every name links to the filing. https://www.purchasingpolicy.org/data-centers https://www.purchasingpolicy.org/data-centers/findings https://w...Read more

Who Paid for the Data Centers $148.4M from utilities and hyperscalers to 1,387 state politicians in 16 states, matched to 112 bills, orders and elections. Every name links to the filing. https://www.purchasingpolicy.org/data-centers https://www.purchasingpolicy.org/data-centers/findings https://www.purchasingpolicy.org/newsroom/who-paid-for-the-data-centers https://dekleptocracy.substack.com

Oct 30

A Board Built for Access The Secretary of State, the White House Chief of Staff and the lobbyists foreign governments pay to work them all sit on the Kennedy Center board. Part two of four on JFK's memorial. In February 2025 Donald Trump removed 18 Biden appointees from the Kennedy Center board in...Read more

A Board Built for Access The Secretary of State, the White House Chief of Staff and the lobbyists foreign governments pay to work them all sit on the Kennedy Center board. Part two of four on JFK's memorial. In February 2025 Donald Trump removed 18 Biden appointees from the Kennedy Center board in a single day and had the new board elect him chairman. The Kennedy Center said it was the first time that had happened to its board. Then he filled the seats. Brian Ballard, trustee. His lobbying firm signed Congo's government on Inauguration Day 2025 at $100,000 a month, represents the Libyan armed forces that answer to Khalifa Haftar on a $2 million contract, Turkey's defense ministry on a $2.4 million contract and the Saudi embassy at $60,000 a month, and opened a Caracas office in July. It took in a record $88.1 million in 2025. The firm employed Susie Wiles and Pam Bondi before they went into government. Both now sit on the board with him. Marco Rubio, trustee by act of Congress. Each of those governments has business before his department. Haftar's son Saddam met him in Washington on June 29. Rubio's former chief of staff, Alberto Martinez, manages the Washington office of Continental Strategy, which signed at least a dozen Venezuela clients after the United States seized Nicolás Maduro in January and which lobbied Rubio's State Department for TXAT, a Houston ammunition company. Susie Wiles, trustee. She sits on the board with Cheri Summerall, the widow of her father, Pat Summerall. Her daughter Katie is a partner at Continental Strategy, whose revenue rose about fifteenfold in 2025 and which registered to lobby for Republika Srpska at $35,000 a month after the administration lifted sanctions on Milorad Dodik. Katie Wiles visited the entity in August. Susie Wiles then hosted Zeljka Cvijanovic, a member of Bosnia's presidency who traveled to Washington with Dodik in February, for talks. The wire. Congo's finance ministry sent $17.6 million to TXAT in May 2025, with about $5.6 million meant as a Kennedy Center donation that never arrived, Axios reports. Ballard's firm works for Congo. Continental works for TXAT. Both have business before the department Rubio runs. At least eight current trustees or their spouses are listed by the Kennedy Center as $100,000-plus annual donors. Read part two of four and subscribe to the newsletter https://dekleptocracy.substack.com/p/has-the-kennedy-center-become-a-marketplace More reading Kennedy Center board of trustees https://www.kennedy-center.org/about-us/leadership/trustees/ Ballard Partners FARA agreement with Congo's Ministry of Communication and Media, effective January 20 2025 https://efile.fara.gov/docs/7070-Exhibit-AB-20250127-7.pdf Continental Strategy FARA supplemental statement listing Republika Srpska and Albania's Democratic Party, March 30 2026 https://efile.fara.gov/docs/7545-Supplemental-Statement-20260330-3.pdf Sources Kennedy Center, Board of Trustees, as of October 29 2026 https://www.kennedy-center.org/about-us/leadership/trustees/ Kennedy Center, donor listings, Leadership Benefactors $100,000 or more annually https://www.kennedy-center.org/Support/donor-listings/donors/ Kennedy Center, A Living Memorial, engravings https://www.kennedy-center.org/memorial/ Kierra Frazier, CBS News, Trump says he is firing Kennedy Center board members, February 10 2025 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-fires-kennedy-center-board-chair Elena Goukassian, The Art Newspaper, Trump fires national archivist, purges Kennedy Center board, February 11 2025 https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/02/11/trump-fires-national-archivist-purges-kennedy-center-board Justice Department FARA, Ballard Partners Exhibit A and B for the Ministry of Communication and Media of the Democratic Republic of Congo, effective January 20 2025 https://efile.fara.gov/docs/7070-Exhibit-AB-20250127-7.pdf David Moore, Sludge, Foreign interests are paying millions to a Trump-linked lobbying firm, February 5 2026 https://readsludge.com/2026/02/05/foreign-interests-are-paying-millions-to-a-trump-linked-lobbying-firm/ David Moore, Sludge, K Street's Trump boom, February 13 2026 https://readsludge.com/2026/02/13/k-streets-trump-boom/ Kevin McCauley, O'Dwyer's, Ballard inks $2M pact with Libyan armed forces, March 17 2026 https://www.odwyerpr.com/story/public/24464/2026-03-17/ballard-inks-2m-pact-with-libyan-armed-forces.html Al Jazeera, Marco Rubio meets Libyan commander as US pushes to resolve Libya crisis, June 29 2026 https://aljazeera.com/news/2026/6/29/marco-rubio-meets-libyan-commander-as-us-pushes-to-resolve-libya-crisis Luca Gambardella, Il Foglio, Rubio meets Haftar in Washington as Dabaiba balks and skips the summit, June 30 2026 https://www.ilfoglio.it/esteri/2026/06/30/news/rubio-meets-haftar-in-washington-as-dabaiba-balks-and-skips-the-summit--401393 Akin Nazli, bne IntelliNews, Turkey's defence ministry hires Trump and Israel-linked lobbyist Ballard on $2.4mn contract, August 28 2026 https://www.intellinews.com/turkey-s-defence-ministry-hires-trump-and-israel-linked-lobbyist-ballard-on-2-4mn-contract-464259/ Ballard Partners, Ballard Partners opens Caracas office, July 29 2026 https://ballardpartners.com/ballard-partners-caracas-office-scott-wagner/ Kevin McCauley, O'Dwyer's, Ballard bags VZ energy services client, October 16 2026 https://www.odwyerpr.com/story/public/25462/2026-10-16/ballard-bags-vz-energy-services-client.html Lee Schlenker, Responsible Statecraft, Latin America lobbying and the trade war, September 5 2025 https://responsiblestatecraft.org/latin-america-lobbying-trade-war/ Samantha Schmidt, Anthony Faiola and Karen DeYoung, Washington Post via Yahoo News, Ex-Trump officials seek jobs tied to Venezuela, October 8 2026 https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/ex-trump-officials-seek-jobs-090000217.html Senate Lobbying Disclosure, Continental Strategy LLC registration for TXAT LLC, TXAT Latam, effective April 1 2025 https://lda.gov/filings/public/filing/a86f0ebb-81cd-4d4c-b516-b71e06d99579/print/ Senate Lobbying Disclosure, Continental Strategy LLC second quarter 2025 report for TXAT, State Department contacted, July 21 2025 https://lda.gov/filings/public/filing/2e3ca3c8-978a-4703-90ad-ac8879c2599e/print/ Marc Caputo, Axios, Secret pay-for-play text rocks Trump White House, October 19 2026 https://www.axios.com/2026/10/19/kennedy-center-text-trump-grenell-habba TXAT LLC, Government services page https://tx-at.com/government Political Wire citing the Financial Times, Chief of Staff's daughter in lobbying conflict, October 8 2026 https://politicalwire.com/2026/10/08/chief-of-staffs-daughter-in-lobbying-conflict/ Anna Skinner, Newsweek, Who is Katie Wiles, daughter of Trump's chief of staff linked to Putin ally, October 15 2026 https://www.newsweek.com/who-is-katie-wiles-daughter-of-trumps-chief-of-staff-linked-to-putin-ally-12575080 N1, Dodik's US lobbying web sparks scrutiny and White House response, October 8 2026 https://n1info.ba/english/news/dodiks-us-lobbying-web-sparks-scrutiny-and-white-house-response/ Emmet Lyons, CBS News, Trump allies and a MAGA-linked firm in Bosnia after Dodik sanctions lifted, October 7 2026 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-us-bosnia-herzegovina-sanctions-dodik-maga-firm-gas-pipeline/ Justice Department FARA, Continental Strategy LLC supplemental statement, March 30 2026 https://efile.fara.gov/docs/7545-Supplemental-Statement-20260330-3.pdf European Western Balkans, Dodik and Cvijanovic meet with Trump administration members in Washington, February 6 2026 https://europeanwesternbalkans.com/2026/02/06/dodik-and-cvijanovic-meet-with-trump-administration-members-in-washington/ Associated Press via Washington Times, Pat Summerall, spirit of NFL, dies at 82, April 16 2013 https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/apr/16/pat-summerall-spirit-nfl-dies-82/ Texas House of Representatives, H.R. 2385, 83rd Legislature, memorial resolution for Pat Summerall https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/83R/billtext/html/HR02385I.htm PBS NewsHour, Trump fires Bondi as attorney general, April 2 2026 https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-fires-bondi-as-attorney-general Jacob Borg, Misha Gagarin and Kevin G. Hall, OCCRP, Top Trump advisor Sergio Gor was born in the Soviet Union, July 8 2025 https://www.occrp.org/en/news/exclusive-top-trump-advisor-sergio-gor-was-born-in-the-soviet-union 20 U.S. Code 76h, Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/20/76h Dekleptocracy, Has The Kennedy Center Become A Marketplace For Foreign Lobbyists?, October 29 2026 https://dekleptocracy.substack.com/p/has-the-kennedy-center-become-a-marketplace Dekleptocracy, Have Grenell and Rubio Turned the Kennedy Center into a Pay-to-Play Hub?, October 21 2026 https://dekleptocracy.substack.com/p/have-grenell-and-rubio-turned-the