Serbia approves bill to let Kushner build divisive luxury compound

Serbian lawmakers on Friday passed a special law clearing the way for a controversial real estate project that would be financed by an investment company linked to President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner despite widespread public opposition and legal hurdles.

- BY JOVANA GEC

PRESIDENT Trump's portrait at an October demonstration in Tirana, Albania.

(ARMANDO BABANI Getty Images)

The project seeks to redevelop a landmark military complex in central Belgrade that was partially destroyed in a NATO bombing campaign in 1999, and turn it into a luxury compound with a high-rise hotel, offices and shops.

The special bill was approved with a 130-40 vote in the 250-member parliament after days of heated parliamentary debate and street protests by opponents.

Serbia's government last year stripped the complex of its protected status and signed a 99-year-lease agreement with Kushner-related Affinity Global Development, based in the U.S. But the project stalled after Serbia’s organized-crime prosecutors launched an investigation into whether documents used to remove that status were forged.