AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File

A planned $500 million Trump luxury hotel in Serbia may be canceled following allegations that a government official faked a document to speed up the development process.
The New York Times
reported late Wednesday night.


Jared Kushner

, President

Donald Trump’s

The son-in-law, along with his company Affinity Partners, aims to construct a Trump International Hotel on an empty plot in Belgrade. This location previously housed a defense ministry building that was destroyed during the U.S.-headed NATO bombing in 1999. If built, this establishment would mark the debut of a Trump-branded hotel in Europe.

The
Times
reported:

The head of the Serbian organization responsible for safeguarding historical sites confessed to officials that they had fabricated an official document permitting the demolition of the former Yugoslav Ministry of Defense building in Belgrade, which was set to make way for a Trump hotel.

The project won tentative approval from the Serbian government last year, even before the government officially moved to revoke the protected historic status of the former Defense Ministry complex, which was heavily damaged during a 1999 bombing campaign by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Serbian government officials say that the agency leader, Goran Vasic, fabricated an expert opinion to justify the government’s decision to strip the site of its cultural heritage status.

“Vasic forged a proposal for a decision to revoke the status of cultural property,” the Office of the Prosecutor for Organized Crime said in a statement.

The
Times
went on to note that the forgery was the legal basis for revoking the protected status of the compound.

Affinity Partners released a statement refuting any connection or awareness regarding the incident.

“Today we learned from media reports that a former Serbian government official with no connection to our firm allegedly falsified documents related to the landmark designation of the Belgrade Square project,” it read. “We will review this matter and determine next steps.”

The site of the proposed hotel has drawn protestors in recent months, most recently in March on the 26th anniversary of the U.S.-led bombing campaign against Serbia.

Even though Trump won the election in November, his relatives have been aggressively seeking international business opportunities. These ventures encompass a $5.5 billion golf course project in Qatar and a $2 billion pledge from the United Arab Emirates for the Trump family’s cryptocurrency platform. President Trump is currently touring these nations as part of his inaugural overseas journey during his second term. During this visit, Trump stated he plans to

accept

a $400 million jet from the Qatari royal family that he will use as Air Force One before retaining the jet after his presidency.

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Trump Luxury Hotel Venture Uncertain Following Accusations ofForgery by Serbian Official

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