Belgrade's organized-crime prosecutors have filed proposed charges against Culture Minister Nikola Selaković and three officials for allegedly abusing office and forging documents to enable a Kushner-linked $500 million redevelopment. The contested site is a bomb-damaged military complex that until recently had protected cultural-heritage status. Parliament passed a special law to clear the project's path even as the investigation continues, and President Vučić has defended the plan and suggested pardons for those convicted.
Serbia Charges Culture Minister Over Kushner-Linked $500M Belgrade Redevelopment
People attend a protest in front of a prosecutor's office for organized crime after Serbian lawmakers last week passed a special law clearing the way for a controversial real estate project that would be financed by an investment company linked to President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, in Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Belgrade's prosecutors specializing in organized crime on Monday announced proposed criminal charges against Culture Minister Nikola Selaković and three other officials, accusing them of abuse of office and document forgery in connection with a high-profile redevelopment project linked to Jared Kushner.
The Public Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime published a statement naming Selaković — a close ally of President Aleksandar Vučić — and three additional public servants as subjects of the probe. Prosecutors say the officials illegally removed the protected cultural-heritage status of a bomb-damaged military complex in central Belgrade by forging documents, thereby clearing the way for redevelopment.
Last year the Serbian government signed a 99-year lease with Affinity Global Development, a U.S. company linked to Kushner. Kushner confirmed his company planned to help finance the estimated $500 million project, which envisions a high-rise hotel, luxury residential towers, office space and retail outlets.
It was not immediately clear when any trial might begin. Despite the ongoing investigation, Serbia's parliament recently passed a special law intended to allow construction to proceed. President Vučić has publicly defended the project as an opportunity to modernize Serbia and strengthen ties with the United States, and said he would consider pardoning anyone convicted in the case.
“I am guilty,” Vučić said recently. “I am the one who wanted modernization of Serbia. I am the one who wanted to bring in a big investor.”
The development has drawn fierce criticism from domestic and international preservation experts and widespread public opposition. Critics argue the complex is an architectural monument and a potent symbol of resistance to the 1999 NATO bombing campaign, which lasted 78 days and remains a deeply sensitive episode in Serbian public memory.
The dispute also unfolds against a backdrop of strained U.S.-Serbia relations. The U.S. administration has imposed 35% tariffs on certain Serbian imports and has sanctioned Serbia’s state oil supplier, which is controlled by Russian interests — factors that add a geopolitical dimension to public debate about the project.
The buildings in question are regarded as notable examples of mid-20th-century Yugoslav architecture, and the controversy highlights tensions between economic development, heritage preservation and political influence in Serbia.
