The planned $500 million luxury hotel in Serbia, part of a larger residential and commercial complex spearheaded by Jared Kushner and his business associates, has hit a serious snag. Serbian authorities revealed this week that a key document used to gain government approval for the demolition of a protected cultural site in Belgrade was forged.
Goran Vasic, the head of the Serbian agency responsible for protecting cultural monuments, confessed to forging an essential document that allowed the historic site of the former Yugoslav Ministry of Defense to be demolished in favor of the Trump International Hotel. This development would mark the first Trump hotel in Europe.
The troubled project received initial approval from the Serbian government last year. This move occurred even before the official revocation of the site's protected historical status, which had been severely damaged during NATO's bombing campaign in 1999. Vasic fabricated an expert opinion to support the controversial decision to strip the site of its cultural significance, according to the Office of the Prosecutor for Organized Crime in Serbia.
The ramifications of this revelation are yet unclear, as Kushner's company stated that they were unaware of any forgery before media reports surfaced. The future of the Trump International Hotel now hangs in the balance as legal assessments are conducted surrounding the authenticity of critical documentation.
