Kushner, Ivanka Trump’s $1.4 Billion Albania Resort Faces Land Challenge as Villagers Target Sale
Updated
Updated · The Daily Beast · Jun 13
Kushner, Ivanka Trump’s $1.4 Billion Albania Resort Faces Land Challenge as Villagers Target Sale
3 articles · Updated · The Daily Beast · Jun 13
Summary
A dozen Zvërnec residents plan to seek a court order to halt the Albania resort project, alleging land tied to the development was wrongfully sold since 2024.
The dispute centers on property the villagers say an Albanian court awarded them in 2013, though the ruling was appealed by Artur Shehu, who later sold the land through a middleman.
Shehu has denied any ownership dispute, but Albanian media say anti-corruption prosecutors are now scrutinizing him over suspected large-scale money laundering; he has never been charged over earlier Italian organized-crime suspicions.
The allegations deepen pressure on Kushner’s wider Albania plans—$1.4 billion on Sazan island and about $4.7 billion along the Zvërnec coast—where protests have already flared over environmental risks and access barriers.
Prime Minister Edi Rama has defended the project, saying permits are not yet issued and construction has not begun, while conservation groups and opposition figures demand more transparency.