Serbia Plans Special Law to Expedite $500M Kushner-Backed Hotel Project

Serbia's parliament is set to debate and likely approve a special law to fast-track a $500 million luxury hotel and residential development known as Trump Tower Belgrade, backed by Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump. The project involves redeveloping the former Yugoslav Army General Staff headquarters, a modernist complex heavily damaged in NATO's 1999 bombing and previously protected as cultural heritage. The law seeks to bypass normal planning and construction procedures, designating the redevelopment a national priority, despite widespread public opposition, protests, and allegations of corruption linked to the project's approval process. In May 2025, a cultural heritage official was arrested for forging documents related to stripping the site's protected status, intensifying scrutiny and controversy. President Aleksandar Vucic and his ruling party support the project, framing it as a means to modernize Belgrade while preserving memorial elements, and the government has agreed to a 99-year land lease with Kushner's firm, Affinity Partners, including a share of future profits for the state. The move has provoked a heated debate over governance, heritage preservation, and transparency in Serbia amid ongoing political unrest.