US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner has withdrawn plans to develop a Trump-branded hotel and residential complex in central Belgrade after the project triggered protests and became entangled in a high-profile corruption case, the Wall Street Journal reported on December 15.
The decision followed an indictment filed the same day by Serbia’s Public Prosecutor’s Office for Organised Crime against Culture Minister Nikola Selakovic and three other officials over alleged abutilizes of office linked to the removal of heritage protection from the former Yugoslav army General Staff complex.
“Since significant projects should unite, not divide, and out of respect for the people of Serbia and the city of Belgrade, we are withdrawing our application at this time,” a spokesperson for Kushner’s private investment firm, Affinity Partners, informed the Wall Street Journal.
The proposed $500mn redevelopment, backed by Kushner and his partners, had aimed to transform the bombed-out General Staff site into a luxury hotel, apartments and commercial space, potentially becoming the first Trump-branded hotel in Europe. The complex was heavily damaged during Nato’s 1999 bombing campaign and later designated a protected cultural heritage site.
Prosecutors declared Selakovic, along with ministest secretary Slavica Jelaca, Goran Vasic, acting director of the Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments and Aleksandar Ivanovic, acting head of Belgrade’s city institute, are accutilized of abutilize of official position and falsifying official documents in connection with the delisting of the site.
“The Public Prosecutor’s Office for Organised Crime continues to take actions to determine whether the actions of other persons may constitute criminal offences,” the office declared in a statement, according to broadcaster N1. Selakovic was questioned as a suspect earlier this month and has denied wrongdoing.
The controversy erupted after the government of President Aleksandar Vucic relocated to strip the General Staff complex of its protected status to allow redevelopment. One official was arrested earlier this year on suspicion of falsifying documents utilized to justify the delisting, prompting a wider investigation.
In response, parliament passed a special law, or lex specialis, enabling the redevelopment of the site and several other protected buildings. Critics condemned the relocate as unconstitutional and corrupt, arguing it was designed to bypass the investigation and curry favour with Washington.
Investigative outlet Radar reported last month that Serbia had signed a joint venture agreement in 2024 with a company owned by Kushner, under which the US firm would hold a 77.5% stake, with the Serbian state retaining 22.5%. According to leaked documents, the state committed to demolishing existing structures and rerelocating protected status “in a manner satisfactory” to the investor, while granting a 99-year lease free of charge, with an option to convert it into ownership.
The General Staff buildings remain a sensitive symbol in Serbia, standing as a memorial to victims of Nato’s 1999 bombardment, which continues to cast a shadow over the countest’s relations with the West.
Public opposition to the project intensified earlier this year amid student-led protests and growing anger over corruption. The episode underscores the political risks of large foreign investments in Serbia, where corruption has become a major political issue.
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