Trump's son-in-law and a luxury complex in Belgrade: A business that sets off warning alarms about corruption, influence peddling...

According to what is known so far, Donald Trump's son-in-law intends to build a luxury complex on the site of the General Staff, the conceptual solutions of which he presented on social networks. Serbia would cede that land to him for 99 years without compensation, with the option to become the owner of the land after that period, shows the proposed conclusion of the Government of Serbia published by the Environmental Uprising, and confirm Kushner's statements to the New York Times.

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Trump and Kushner, Photo: Screenshot/Youtube
Trump and Kushner, Photo: Screenshot/Youtube
Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.

The intention of Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law, to build a luxury residential complex and hotel on the site of the demolished General Staff in Belgrade in agreement with the authorities in Serbia - is a business that sets off warning alarms about corruption, trading in influence or conflict of interest, assess corruption experts from Washington and of Belgrade.

Actors are "politically exposed persons" and as such, by definition, represent a greater risk of being involved in corruption due to their position and influence, and the entire project takes place in Serbia, which ranks poorly on Transparency International's global corruption perception scale. But, experts say, corruption is difficult to prove and it is necessary to engage institutions in elucidating the affairs of the General Staff - which is not happening on either side of the Atlantic for now.

According to what is known so far, Donald Trump's son-in-law intends to build a luxury complex on the site of the General Staff, the conceptual solutions of which he presented on social networks. Serbia would cede that land to him for 99 years without compensation, with the option to become the owner of the land after that period, shows the proposed conclusion of the Government of Serbia published by the Environmental Uprising, and confirms Kushner's statements to the New York Times. He also stated that the project is worth around 500 million dollars and that Serbia will receive 22 percent of the profit from this work.

According to the claims of both parties, the Investment Agreement on the "revitalization" of the General Staff was not signed, but from the published document it can be seen that there is a Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Serbia and the American firms Atlantic Incubation Partners LLC and Kushner Realty LLC. The Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Construction of Serbia, Goran Vesić, denied that the memorandum was signed and promised that the public will be informed about everything when it is finished.

What are the red lights in America?

In the US, there are foreign business laws that apply to ordinary people, famous sons-in-law and politicians, as well as companies, so Jared Kushner would have to adhere to them as well.

One is the Foreign Corruption Practices Act, and the other is the Foreign Extortion Prevention Act, according to which everyone must ensure that their actions do not encourage corruption. For example, the Anti-Corruption Act makes it illegal for US individuals or companies to give or promise money to foreign officials in order to get or keep a job. The Anti-Extortion Act targets the other side - that is, it allows US authorities to prosecute those who accept bribes from US individuals and companies.

"In cases like Kushner's business, a lot depends on how much care is taken to thoroughly investigate and vet a business partner before making a deal with him. Because Kushner falls under this law, regardless of whether he licenses someone to do the work on his behalf, or to do it himself," Georgetown University professor and expert on corruption and national security Jodi Vitori explains to Voice of America.

She says that the Kushner project in Belgrade reminds her of the case of Trump's luxury complex in Azerbaijan. Namely, in 2012, Trump agreed with the son of the Azerbaijani Minister of Transport, Anar Mamadov, to build a hotel and apartments in Baku. The Mamadov family was called the "Caspian Corleone family" by the US Foreign Policy, and the New Yorker wrote that they were connected to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. That didn't stop the Trump Organization from doing business with the Mamados, but his lawyers said he didn't break the law because he didn't bribe anyone.

The project in Baku was not realized and was suspended when Trump became president. In 2012, Trump called the Law on Prevention of Corruption in Business with Foreign Countries "terrible" and said that it makes it difficult to conclude business deals.

"The famous author Mark Twain said that 'history may not repeat itself, but it often does.' son, I see that one of the actors in Serbia is also the Minister of Transport. Both countries are known for high corruption, Serbia has a score of 36 on the Corruption Perception Index, it is 104th on the list of the most corrupt countries out of 180. And when you have some jobs in a country like Serbia , you should take even more care of the Law on Prevention of Corruption, especially if one of the main actors is a minister in the government - that is, a politically exposed person - who is more susceptible to corruption because of his position and influence," says Vitori.

Donald Trump, according to all reports, is not involved in the General Staff project. Allegedly, in 2013, he was interested in investing in that location before he became president, which was confirmed by the current Minister of Foreign Affairs in a technical mandate and the Prime Minister at the time, Ivica Dačić, but after that he was not involved in any agreements or deals.

Kushner's firm did not respond to Voice of America's inquiry about whether it had taken all necessary actions in accordance with anti-corruption and anti-extortion laws. But Jared Kushner told the New York Times earlier that he would do business in accordance with the law, while denying that anyone is giving him jobs or special treatment because he is Trump's son-in-law.

According to Professor Vitori, the fact that it is mentioned that Kushner will be given land near the General Staff for 99 years free of charge, as well as two companies Atlantic Incubations Partner LLC, founded in 2023 and registered in Delaware (a state known for offshore companies), also raises doubts. and Kushner Realty LLC, incorporated in 2022 and registered in Merliend. Voice of America did not receive a response from Kushner as to whether these firms are related to his company.

"We're talking about someone who was the son-in-law of the president and who is the son-in-law of maybe the future president, and you're offering them a very valuable location practically for free, with the option to become the owner of that land. Every time a 'politically exposed person' is given something very valuable for free, all the red lights should go off. When the names of companies, limited liability companies (LLCs) that no one has ever heard of appear in such a large project, it also raises suspicions. Further investigation is needed to determine what is going on." , says Professor Vitori.

He explains that violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act are being investigated by the US Department of Justice, but notes that these are complex investigations that take years. Another option, in theory, could be a congressional investigation.

Conflict of interest?

Businessman Jared Kushner was Trump's adviser from 2017 to 2021. Among other things, he dealt with the Middle East and developed close ties with Saudi Arabia. After leaving office, he continued with the real estate business and founded the company Affinity, whose value is 3,1 billion dollars according to Bloomberg. Two billion came from the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. Affinity will be an investor in Serbia and Albania.

That business-political connection of Kushner with the Middle East is now under the scrutiny of the Democrats in the House of Representatives, who are demanding that an investigation be launched, the American media reported.

Democratic members of the House Government Oversight Committee are calling for an investigation into $2 billion that they say Affinity received from Saudi Arabia six months after Kushner left the White House. They want to examine Kushner's influence and whether there was a "favor-for-favor" principle that influenced US foreign policy toward the Middle East.

"We are writing to you in light of the new business that Kushner intends to implement abroad, at a time when his father-in-law, Donald Trump, is again running for president," stated the Democratic members of the Oversight Committee in the lower house of Congress. This comes as the Republican majority in the House of Representatives is trying to impeach President Joe Biden over his son Hunter's foreign affairs.

"When I first heard about Kushner's plans, it occurred to me that there was an extremely high probability that there was a conflict of interest. A conflict of interest, at least here in the US, does not necessarily imply a criminal offense. But it usually implies a suspicion that an individual in a business has and interests other than the public," says Professor Vitori, commenting on the planned investment in Belgrade.

The ethical regulations of the White House stipulate that officials, after leaving the government, cannot engage in lobbying in various aspects for two years, but it is not specified how business with foreign countries is treated.

The name of a former White House official - Richard Grenell, special envoy for dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo and acting director of the US National Intelligence Service in the Trump administration - is also mentioned in the work surrounding the General Staff.

It is not clear whether he has a stake in this project, and what his potential role is. Grenel spoke highly of Kushner's project in the Serbian media. In an interview with the New York Times, Kushner stated that "Rick is a big supporter of investing in the Balkans and wanted to attract him to invest there since he founded his fund."

Richard Grenell often visited Serbia and Albania after he left the Trump administration, as evidenced by his posts on social networks from Belgrade and the Albanian coast.

He did not hide his close relations with Serbian officials such as Finance Minister Siniša Malog - whom Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said "discussed large investments" in the context of the General Staff.

In August 2021, Grenel told the Kosovo online portal that he was engaged in promoting foreign investments and economic cooperation in the region, but he did not say for whom he was doing it. He later denied that he was lobbying for the Serbian government.

"I am in the private sector and we are looking for opportunities to create a private sector for foreign investments in the Balkans," said Grenel, who was honored by the President of Serbia in October 2023 for his contribution to the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina.

Grenell has remained close to Donald Trump, often publicly supports him and, according to the New York Times, has said privately that he hopes for a position in the new administration, although he has never publicly confirmed it.

What are the red lights in Serbia?

In Serbia, the information that a luxury complex is being built on the site of the ruins of the General Staff caused stormy reactions - due to the public's sensitivity to NATO bombing, but also because the project reminded many of the controversial Belgrade on the water.

According to the statements of Serbian officials, the deal with Kushner was not agreed upon. The Minister of Transport, Construction and Infrastructure, Goran Vesić, denied that a memorandum with Kušner's company was signed and said that negotiations were being held with "several companies". But, from the document published by the Ecological Uprising, it can be seen that the Government authorized Minister Vesić to sign the Investment Agreement and undertake the implementation of the obligations arising from the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government and the American firms Atlantic Incubation Partners LLC and Kushner Realty LLC. Voice of America contacted the Government of Serbia and the Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure and Construction for comment, but no response has yet been received.

"From the point of view of Serbian laws, nothing seems to be right here, and for now we do not have answers to several key questions," said Nemanja Nenadić, program director of Transparency Serbia, in an interview with Voice of America.

First, he says, it concerns urbanism and the fact that the General Staff building has been declared a cultural monument that enjoys certain protection, which means that you cannot demolish and build on it just like that. According to the procedure, the protected status can be canceled only by the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, and as announced by that institute - no request for that has been received.

The second question, says Nenadić, concerns the state's decision to enter into some kind of public-private partnership, which can be concluded from the published memorandum that envisages the establishment of a joint venture between Serbia and Atlantic Incubation Partners LLC. In this joint venture, the state of Serbia enters with land as its share, while the private partner enters with money.

But this is where the problem arises - because the private partner was chosen without a public competition, which does not guarantee that the state got the best for itself. According to what Kushner told the New York Times, Serbia would receive 22 percent of the profit from the deal, and the profit is usually divided according to the ownership share in the joint venture, explains Nenadić.

"When a direct contract is made with one company, then there are no guarantees that the state will get the best possible offer. So why 22 percent, why not 42, for example? For comparison, in Belgrade on the water, which we criticized for similar reasons, the state received 32 percent of the ownership in the joint venture. Experience has shown that this business model is not something that is profitable for the state, we have seen that the state has so far received very little income from the joint venture," says the program director of Transparency and adds that this form of partnership brings numerous corruption risks. "Because then the majority partner has the opportunity to exaggerate costs, extract profits, and the state does not receive the expected income from its share of ownership".

Finally, says Nenadić, the question arises as to why the state does not sell a location that it clearly does not need and thus enter into a "clean business".

"The state would get the money immediately. The counter argument, if Minister Vesić were to consider this issue, would be that the company would be profitable and the state would reap the profit, so we would get more money. That may be true, but it may not be. sea, we don't know that. But the state does not exist to enter into business risks and to deal with business".

However, although there are many red lights in this business, corruption is difficult to prove and would imply the work of institutions that are independent from the government - which is not the case in Serbia according to reports by international organizations.

"Perhaps there is no corruption, perhaps none of the participants in the business is corrupt, but if so - then it is very difficult to understand what other motive they could have had to enter into a business that will cause damage to the budget, benefit the private partner, and they are responsible for all of that. If they're not getting any benefit themselves, it's hard to explain why they're doing something that's obviously harmful. And why I say harmful - because if what this company is offering is really the best possible deal, then that option got the job in an open competition," concludes the director of Transparency Serbia.

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