That fresh United States (U.S.) capital is coming to the Balkans, namely Serbia and Albania, in the form of an investment by Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump, was announced pompously in regional media. However, the Trump family’s luxury hotel project in Serbia, worth 500 million dollars, which was supposed to be built on the site of the former Ministry of Defense building destroyed in the 1999 NATO bombing, has encountered an obstacle even before construction began. Namely, the acting director of the Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, Goran Vasic, admitted, according to U.S. media, to Serbian authorities that he forged a government document that permitted the demolition of the former headquarters of the Ministry of Defense of Yugoslavia in Belgrade and the construction of a Trump hotel at that location.
Indictment filed against Vasic
As Serbian media report, the Public Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime in this country has filed an indictment against Vasic on suspicion of abuse of official position and forgery of a document through which he initiated the removal of the cultural heritage status for the buildings of the General Staff and Ministry of Defense in Belgrade. Without involving experts, Vasic drafted a Proposal for the deletion of the buildings from the register of cultural monuments, which was then forwarded to the Government of Serbia. The Government, after a formal procedure, on November 14th, 2024, adopted a decision by which these buildings – symbols of national history and suffering during the NATO bombing – were removed from the list of protected objects. In doing so, according to the Prosecutor’s Office, irreparable damage was caused to Serbia’s cultural heritage. The accusations are based on suspicion that Vasic, by violating laws and the Constitution, acted outside of expert procedures and institutional norms he was obliged to protect. Essentially, this made the construction of the planned structures at these locations possible.
Jared Kushner and his business partners plan to build a luxury residential-business complex on the site of the long-abandoned building, and the project also includes a Trump International Hotel –the first of its kind in Europe.
The project received preliminary approval from the Government of Serbia last year, even before the Government officially revoked the protected cultural-historical status of the Ministry of Defense complex. Officials from the Serbian Government state that the agency director, Goran Vasic, fabricated an expert opinion to justify the government’s decision to remove the cultural heritage status from the location. “Vasic forged the proposed decision to revoke cultural heritage status,” stated the Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime. “Goran Vasic caused damage to the cultural heritage of the Republic of Serbia.”
The forged document served as the legal basis for lifting protection from the complex, the U.S. media writes, adding that Affinity Partners, Jared Kushner’s firm, stated in a press release that it had no role in the evaluation of the site’s status. Work at the site has not yet begun, and the fate of the project is now uncertain, the company said.
“Today we learned from media reports that a former Serbian official, who has no connection to our firm, allegedly forged documents related to designating the Belgrade Square project as a protected monument,” the statement reads. “We will review this matter and decide on the next steps.”
Meetings with Trump’s Son
The lease of attractive city land for 99 years and the plan to demolish a historical complex in the heart of Belgrade to build a luxury hotel linked to the Trump and Kushner families caused a wave of political and social discontent, which coincided with student protests that, since last year, have been demanding accountability and protesting across Serbia after the demolition of the train station canopy in Novi Sad, when 15 people lost their lives under concrete slabs, and a 16th victim died later after prolonged and unsuccessful hospital treatment.
In Belgrade, several protests have been held against the demolition of the complex. The most recent took place in March, on the 26th anniversary of the NATO bombing. In the meantime, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met twice with Donald Trump’s son, who publicly supported Vucic amid the student protests, and whose administration had swiftly approved the controversial project.
“Serbia is one of the fastest growing countries in Europe, and it is an incredible honor for us to be there,” said Eric Trump, son of the U.S.president, in an interview in January, adding that “it will be fun to gather the family.”
In the background of all this is, a broader global network of Trump business: from real estate investments in Qatar and Oman, to two billion dollars of investment from the United Arab Emirates (UAE)in a crypto firm linked to the family. Ethics experts warn that these arrangements blur the line between state policy and private profit.
“This creates the impression, if not the reality, that U.S. foreign policy depends on the business interests of the president’s family,” said Richard Painter, former ethics advisor to the White House.
What do Serbian authorities say about it all? Sinisa Mali, Minister of Finance and member of Vucic‘s administration, told reporters on Thursday that an investigation is underway into the removal of cultural heritage status from the buildings. “I cannot comment on something that is currently under the jurisdiction of the prosecutor’s office,” said Mali. “We will find out what happened and how.”, Forbes writes.
