# Šapić did not declare villa near Trieste

Category: Above the law  
Period: from May 2018  
Outcome: Under investigation (as of 23 Sep 2024)  

Aleksandar Šapić, then mayor of the Novi Beograd municipality and mayor of Belgrade since 2022, bought a 399-square-metre villa near Trieste for €820,000 in 2018, according to the contract and land registry records obtained by BIRN and Vreme, but declared a 150-square-metre flat at that address to the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption. The Agency has been checking his declarations since February 2019, yet in January 2023 it said it had only just opened a check; the outcome has not been published. Šapić says he declared his assets properly and is suing BIRN over its story about the villa.

## The villa in Opicina

Aleksandar Šapić, then mayor of the Novi Beograd municipality and mayor of Belgrade since 2022, bought a villa in Opicina near Trieste for €820,000 in May 2018, according to the sale contract and an extract from the Italian land registry obtained by BIRN and the weekly Vreme. According to the land registry, the villa has 399 square metres of gross floor area and 13 rooms, and comes with a 127-square-metre garage, part of the access road and a share in a woodland.

## What he declared to the Agency

BIRN and Vreme reported in January 2023 that Šapić had not declared the villa to the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption: no property in his declarations matches its size, and the Agency told them that all of his declarations had been published. The Agency then said that in January 2019 Šapić had declared the purchase of a 150-square-metre flat in Trieste at that address, and that on 27 January 2023 it had opened an extraordinary check.

Šapić says he declared his assets properly and gave the Agency the contract; on TV Prva he said he entered 150 square metres because that is the living space, and that he did not know he had to declare the entire floor area.

## Lawsuit against BIRN

In March 2023, Šapić sued BIRN, editor Milorad Ivanović and the article's authors, Jelena Veljković and Aleksandar Đorđević, seeking six million dinars in damages for mental anguish. At the same time, he filed a second lawsuit against BIRN over an article about the legalisation of his flat in Bežanijska Kosa. BIRN calls both lawsuits SLAPPs.

## The trial and the Agency's check

At the first hearing, in September 2024, Šapić said his secretary had filled in the form and asked the journalists who their source was. A letter from the Agency to the court revealed that it had been conducting an extraordinary review of his reports since February 2019, when it asked him for a contract, and that the review was still ongoing five years later.

After three hearings held and five cancelled, the proceedings were closed on 29 September 2026. Šapić did not attend, and the court will review his interview with TV Prva before delivering its verdict. The outcome of the Agency's review has not been published.

## Participants

- [Aleksandar Šapić](https://odgovornost.rs/en/osobe/aleksandar-sapic): Instead of a 399-square-metre villa in Trieste, he declared a 150-square-metre flat to the Agency, and he sued journalists to stop such reporting (responsible)
- [Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (until 2020 the Anti-Corruption Agency)](https://odgovornost.rs/en/organizacije/agencija-za-sprecavanje-korupcije): It has been checking Šapić's reports since February 2019, yet in January 2023 it announced that it had only just launched an extraordinary review (investigation and courts)
- [BIRN](https://odgovornost.rs/en/organizacije/birn): Together with the weekly Vreme, he reported that Šapić had not declared a villa in Trieste, and Šapić sued him for six million dinars over it (oversight and the public)
- [Higher Court in Belgrade](https://odgovornost.rs/en/organizacije/visi-sud-beograd): Presiding over Šapić's lawsuit against BIRN; after three hearings were held and five were cancelled, the hearing of evidence closed in 2026. (investigation and courts)
- [Milorad Ivanović](https://odgovornost.rs/en/osobe/milorad-ivanovic): Editor-in-chief of BIRN Serbia; Šapić sued him over the article about the villa in Trieste (harmed)
- [Aleksandar Đorđević](https://odgovornost.rs/en/osobe/aleksandar-djordjevic): Co-author of the article about the villa in Trieste; Šapić sued him seeking six million dinars (harmed)
- [Party of Freedom and Justice](https://odgovornost.rs/en/organizacije/ssp): According to a party statement, it asked the Finance Committee to request an extraordinary report from the Agency on Šapić's assets (oversight and the public)
- [Free Citizens Movement](https://odgovornost.rs/en/organizacije/psg): He called on the Agency to urgently open proceedings against Šapić, a day after the article about the villa was published (oversight and the public)

## Sources

- [BIRN / Balkan Insight: Šapić did not declare a €820,000 villa in Trieste](<https://birn.rs/aleksandar-sapic-vila-u-trstu/>): 26 Jan 2023
- [Vreme: Our Mayor in Trieste](<https://vreme.com/vreme/nas-gradonacelnik-u-trstu/>): 26 Jan 2023
- [Cenzolovka: Šapić insults BIRN journalists at trial; they reply they have evidence for every claim about his villa in Trieste](<https://www.cenzolovka.rs/pritisci-i-napadi/sapic-na-sudjenju-vredjao-novinare-birn-a-oni-mu-odgovorili-da-imaju-dokaze-za-sve-tvrdnje-o-njegovoj-vili-u-trstu/>): 23 Sep 2024
- [N1: Agency speaks out on Šapić's villa in Trieste: new confusion instead of clarification](<https://n1info.rs/vesti/agencija-se-oglasila-o-sapicevoj-vili-u-trstu-umesto-razjasnjenja-nova-zabuna/>): 27 Jan 2023
- [BIRN / Balkan Insight: Aleksandar Šapić files two lawsuits against BIRN](<https://birn.rs/sapic-tuzio-birn/>): 29 Mar 2023
- [N1: Anti-Corruption Agency launches extraordinary review of Šapić's asset declarations](<https://n1info.rs/vesti/agencija-za-sprecavanje-korupcije-odgovorila-na-pitanja-n1-o-sapicevoj-vili/>): 30 Jan 2023
- [Nova.rs: They admitted they lied: Anti-Corruption Agency opens proceedings against Šapić over Trieste villa](<https://nova.rs/vesti/politika/priznali-da-su-slagali-agencija-za-sprecavanje-korupcije-pokrece-postupak-protiv-sapica/>): 30 Jan 2023
- [Raskrikavanje: Belgrade Mayor Aleksandar Šapić tries to uncover BIRN's source at trial](<https://raskrikavanje.rs/gradonacelnik-beograda-aleksandar-sapic-na-sudenju-birn-u-pokusao-da-otkrije-ko-im-je-izvor/>): 23 Sep 2024
- [Raskrikavanje: Hearing closed after three years in trial over Šapić's lawsuit against BIRN – verdict expected](<https://raskrikavanje.rs/posle-tri-godine-zakljucena-rasprava-u-sudenju-po-sapicevoj-tuzbi-protiv-birn-a-ocekuje-se-presuda/>): 29 Sep 2026
- [Nova.rs: New properties in Aleksandar Šapić's asset declaration: 399 square metres of the Trieste villa still missing](<https://nova.rs/vesti/politika/nove-nekretnine-u-imovinskoj-karti-aleksandra-sapica-i-dalje-nema-399-kvadrata-vile-iz-trsta/>): 23 Mar 2023
- [Nova.rs: SSP: Report on Šapić's assets should go before the Finance Committee](<https://nova.rs/vesti/politika/ssp-izvestaj-o-sapicevoj-imovini-da-se-nadje-pred-odborom-za-finansije/>): 23 Mar 2023
- [Vreme: PSG: Where did Šapić get a €820,000 villa in Trieste?](<https://www.vreme.com/vesti/psg-odakle-sapicu-vila-od-820-000-evra-u-trstu/>): 26 Jan 2023
- [Radio Slobodna Evropa: Belgrade mayor files two lawsuits against BIRN](<https://www.slobodnaevropa.org/a/sapic-birn-tuzbe/32340224.html>): 29 Mar 2023
- [BIRN / Balkan Insight: First hearing held in Šapić's case against BIRN](<https://birn.rs/prvo-rociste-sapic-birn/>): 23 Sep 2024
- [Cenzolovka: Šapić's lawsuit against BIRN: Unlike the plaintiff, we follow the codes of our profession](<https://www.cenzolovka.rs/pritisci-i-napadi/tuzba-sapica-protiv-birn-a-za-razliku-od-tuzioca-mi-se-vodimo-kodeksima-svoje-profesije/>): 29 Sep 2026

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Source: Odgovornost, https://odgovornost.rs/en/afere/sapic-vila-u-trstu  
As of: 4 Nov 2026  
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en)