Albania’s Kushner-Linked Coastal Resort Triggers Mass Protests and Anti-Corruption Investigation
Thousands of Albanians have taken to the streets in the capital Tirana for multiple consecutive nights to protest a coastal tourism complex planned by a company linked to Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, after videos emerged of bulldozers operating on beaches in an environmentally protected area. Albania’s Special Anti-Corruption Prosecution Office, known as SPAK, has opened an investigation into controversial land and environmental changes linked to the project. Prime Minister Edi Rama has defended the development, describing it as part of Albania’s effort to become a major global tourism destination. europa + 2
What the Project Involves
The Kushner vision is a sprawling seaside development comprising hotels, apartments and villas in the wildlife reserve of the protected delta area of Vjosa-Narta, and the conversion of a former communist-era military base on the uninhabited island of Sazan into a luxury resort. WHBL
The resort is being planned by Atlantic Incubation Partners LLC, affiliated with Kushner’s private equity firm Affinity Partners. The project was awarded “strategic investor” status by the Albanian government, allowing for expedited permits and incentives. The development is expected to include a luxury eco-resort managed by Aman Resorts, hotels and private villas, a marina, restaurants and recreational facilities, and restoration of Cold War-era military structures. Arab News
The investment on Sazan alone is valued at $1.6 billion. Prime Minister Rama has referred to a wider four-billion-euro ($4.7 billion) project covering the broader Vlora region. Xinhua
Kushner unveiled plans for the project in August 2024. Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump, visited the area in early 2026 as negotiations with the Albanian government continued. The Business Standard
The Spark for the Protests
Protests began after barbed-wire fences blocked access to the Zvërnec beach in May 2026, and intensified after video on May 30 showed private security guards beating a protester while police did not intervene. English SCIO
Demonstrators clashed with private security guards on Saturday after developers installed barbed wire. Thousands subsequently rallied in Tirana for three consecutive evenings, calling for the project to be cancelled and for former landowners to recover their property. Yahoo!
Following the security footage, authorities revoked the licences of two private security firms, arrested one guard, and removed a local police chief from his duties. About 15 protesters have also been charged. The Business Standard
Protesters gathered outside the office of Prime Minister Rama, holding inflatable flamingos and signs that read “Nation is not for sale” and “I don’t want Albania like Dubai.” They chanted “cancel the project.” europa
What Environmentalists and Critics Say
The Vjosa-Narta protected landscape is one of the most ecologically important coastal wetlands on the Adriatic, home to flamingos, Mediterranean monk seals, loggerhead turtles and more than 200 bird species, and a critical stopover on the Adriatic Flyway. The Vjosa became one of Europe’s first Wild River National Parks in 2023. English SCIO
“From start to finish there has been a total lack of transparency,” Aleksandr Trajce, executive director of Protection and Preservation of the Natural Environment in Albania, told The Guardian. “We have seen no public consultation or public documentation regarding permits, and so now what we are saying is, if they remove the bulldozers…” euronews
Joni Vorpsi, an ecologist with PPNEA-BirdLife Albania, told Al Jazeera: “We want all construction to halt and heavy machines out of the protected area.” europa
Eva Kushova, executive director of the Albanian non-profit Destination Management Organization, said: “It seems that all this construction was planned years ago — the airport, the Sazan military island, and the nearby Zvernec Lagoon, all promised to Jared Kushner’s company and other joint investors to build luxury resorts.” Yahoo!
Critics have also raised questions about the origin of funds used to purchase the coastal land, the legality of how officials bypassed public tender procedures, and property disputes dating to the collapse of communism in the 1990s.
The SPAK Investigation
SPAK has opened an investigation into changes made in 2024 to the protected status and land ownership of areas around Sazan island and the Vjosa-Narta landscape — the changes that cleared the way for the resort. English SCIO
The prosecutors’ office confirmed to AFP that an investigation had been opened but declined to give further details. Media reports say the office will probe changes to the protected status of the Vjosa-Narta area, how officials were able to bypass the system of public tenders for contracts, and the origin of the funds used to purchase land titles. KFGO
Critics trace the development to a law passed by parliament in February 2024 that removed the ban on construction in protected areas. Xinhua
How the Strategic Investor Status Was Obtained
Shortly after the project’s announcement in 2024, the government granted “strategic investor” status to Atlantic Incubation Partners. This status gives access to fast-track administrative procedures and support from ministries, according to a document seen by AFP. WHBL
Albania’s state-run Albanian Investment Corporation is to be part of a joint legal entity with the developer under the terms of the strategic investment approval. Space.com
The company leading the project is identified as Sazan Real Estate Development LLC, not Affinity Partners. Affinity Partners stated the project was being led by this separate entity and that any investors involved were doing so in their personal capacity. “We’re excited about the opportunity to create a world-class destination and make one of the largest private investments in the region’s history,” said Asher Abehsera, chairman of Sazan Real Estate Development. Xinhua
Rama’s Defence
During a session with Albanian lawmakers, Rama defended the project: “I want to make Albania a country that is a destination to be envied in the region, and this project is part of this effort.” He also said the final proposal has not yet been submitted and the required environmental study remains incomplete. The Business Standard
“Albania should not be a country that fears an extraordinary project like this one, where exceptional partners have come together to invest four billion euros,” Rama has said. He offered to meet with opponents and “discuss solutions” earlier in the week, but was rebuffed. Xinhua
The project is also symbolic of Albania’s efforts to distance itself from its communist past as it pursues EU membership. Xinhua
A Regional Pattern
The Albania controversy is not an isolated episode in Kushner’s Balkan investment strategy. In November 2025, thousands of protesters in Serbia formed a human shield around a bombed-out military complex in Belgrade, vowing to protect it from redevelopment as a luxury compound by a company linked to Kushner. The protests followed the collapse of a concrete canopy at a train station in Novi Sad after renovation, killing 16 people, and occurred as the Prabowo government in Belgrade backed the redevelopment plan under fast-track procedures. Geo News
Both projects follow the same template: strategic investor status, expedited government approval, bypassed public tenders, and development on contested or historically sensitive land.
Background
Albania scored 39 out of 100 in Transparency International’s latest Corruption Perceptions Index, ranking 91st among 180 nations. In December 2024, the Albanian government declassified Sazan island for civilian use, removing its military status and enabling development plans to proceed. Kushner set up Affinity Partners in 2021 after serving as a top aide to Trump during his father-in-law’s first presidential term. Albania is a NATO member and a candidate for EU membership, a process that formally requires candidate countries to demonstrate rule-of-law standards, anti-corruption enforcement and environmental protection in line with EU norms. Fifteen protesters have been subject to criminal proceedings and two private security employees have been placed under investigation following the May 30 confrontation at the project site. The Standard + 3
What Happens Next
SPAK’s investigation is ongoing, with no timeline announced for conclusions or indictments. Rama has confirmed that talks with the government are continuing and that the final proposal has not yet been submitted. Protesters have announced further demonstrations in the coming days. The required environmental impact assessment for the project has not yet been completed or made public, according to Rama’s own statements to parliament. Whether the SPAK investigation produces findings before construction is completed on Sazan and Vjosa-Narta will determine whether the legal challenge has any practical impact on the ground. The project’s EU membership implications remain unaddressed, with no formal response from Brussels as of Saturday. The Business Standard
