Jared Kushner’s private-equity firm has walked away from a planned Trump-branded hotel and luxury complex in central Belgrade, Serbia, after a government minister and other officials were indicted over the controversial approval process for the project.
Affinity Partners, the investment firm Kushner founded after leaving the White House, said it was withdrawing from the project that critics had tied to disputes over historical preservation and political influence. According to Bloomberg, a spokesman for the firm said, “Because meaningful projects should unite rather than divide, and out of respect for the people of Serbia and the City of Belgrade, we are withdrawing our application and stepping aside at this time.”
Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, has withdrawn his private equity firm from a $500 million luxury hotel project in Serbia hours after four senior government officials were charged with bribery by prosecutors.https://t.co/hdFRRjbkhs
— Ⓜ️Ⓜ️ Lauren Ashley Davis – OG Meidas Might 🇺🇲🦅 (@Meidas_LaurenA) December 16, 2025
The plan had called for transforming a bombed-out military complex in central Belgrade, a site widely regarded as a protected cultural heritage area, into a Trump-branded hotel, apartments, offices and shops. But, according to ABC News, the project became deeply controversial after prosecutors filed criminal charges related to the removal of the site’s protected status.
Serbia’s Public Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime said it charged Culture Minister Nikola Selaković and three other officials with abuse of office and falsifying official documents for allegedly helping clear the way for the redevelopment.
Just a few hours after the Serbian prosecution filed an indictment proposal against Minister of Culture Nikola Selaković, Jared Kushner’s company, Affinity Partners, confirmed that it was withdrawing from the planned project in Serbia’s capital.https://t.co/Gwu0SZdAAG
— European Western Balkans 🇪🇺 (@EWB_eu) December 16, 2025
President Aleksandar Vučić, who is close to Selaković, has publicly defended the controversial development in the past. Prosecutors said the indictment does not implicate Donald Trump’s son-in-law or Affinity Partners. But, according to Reuters, the legal troubles and public backlash made it difficult to move forward with the deal.
The site that Kushner wanted to develop was the former headquarters of the Yugoslav army. It was heavily damaged during NATO bombings of Serbia in 1999 and carried deep symbolic weight for many. It should therefore come as no surprise that any redevelopment plans touched people on an emotional level.
Conflict of Interest
Affinity bidding on CNN??
Kushner, who’s married to U.S. President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka, is emerging in some of the most high-profile diplomatic negotiations and private business deals of his father-in-law’s second term.
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Serbia’s parliament passed laws allowing for the redevelopment, stripping away heritage protections from this complex. This decision sparked protests in Belgrade. Those who believed that the site should remain intact as a part of their history and culture were particularly upset.
The indictment was brought as part of an organized crime inquiry, with prosecutors accusing Selaković and others of “illegalities when removing a status of cultural heritage site” to favor the development project.
Selaković denied wrongdoing. And now the case awaits judicial review which could take months. And that’s why the lawsuit has effectively ended the Affinity Partners deal.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic confirms that a planned hotel development of the former Yugoslav army headquarters would not go ahead, after the investment firm linked to Donald #Trump’s son-in-law pulled out.https://t.co/LBOpi0qzu3
— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) December 16, 2025
President Vučić saw the project as a way to modernize Belgrade and strengthen ties with foreign investors, particularly with the United States. He has said that he would consider pardoning convicted officials, implying that it was both a legal and political fight. In fact, Vučić recently made a shocking admission.
“I am guilty… I am the one who wanted modernization of Serbia. I am the one who wanted to bring in a big investor.”
The collapse of the Belgrade project shows how international real estate deals, even those backed by high-profile figures like Kushner, can end up in a mess of local politics and legal systems. For now, the site’s future remains uncertain. And Kushner will have to look elsewhere to build his next luxury Trump hotel.
