A planned $1.4 billion luxury resort backed by Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump on Albania’s coast is facing new complications after court documents raised questions about the ownership history of land purchased for the massive development.
The resort is planned for the Zvërnec peninsula, a scenic coastal area in Albania. According to the documents, a key portion of the property was purchased from a group connected to Artur Shahu, a 60-year-old Albanian businessman now living in Miami Beach who is the subject of an international criminal investigation.
Albanian authorities suspect that some properties associated with Shahu were registered using fraudulent ownership documents, including records that allegedly removed the names of original landowners.
Development companies Albania Land Development and Sazan Real Estate Development, which are backed by Kushner, paid more than $120 million for the coastal property.
Shortly after the transaction was completed, Albania’s Special Structure Against Corruption and Organized Crime, known as SPAK, issued an international arrest warrant for Shahu as part of an investigation conducted with authorities in Belgium, Spain and other European countries.
Prosecutors allege that Shahu was a central figure in a network involved in trafficking cocaine from South America into Europe, with narcotics allegedly concealed in commercial shipments of coal, fruit puree and sugar. Authorities have also accused him of laundering money through Albanian real estate.
As part of that investigation, Albanian authorities have reportedly frozen more than $120 million connected to the land transaction while examining the funds for possible money laundering.
Local residents have separately disputed ownership of portions of the land for nearly two decades, arguing that agricultural property was improperly taken from them. Before the development group completed its purchase, residents reportedly warned the developers in writing that ownership of the property remained the subject of legal disputes.
The controversy has added to existing opposition to the resort. Protesters have raised environmental concerns over development near protected areas and the region’s flamingo population, with demonstrations later expanding into broader protests against Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and the project.
Kushner and his business partners are not suspects in the drug investigation and have not been accused of criminal wrongdoing.
A representative for the development group said the company stands behind the transaction and believes the land was lawfully acquired, adding that Albanian courts are the appropriate venue to resolve disputes over the property’s ownership history. Shahu’s attorney has also rejected the allegations against his client.
The ongoing investigations, land disputes and public protests have nevertheless created new uncertainty surrounding the future of the planned luxury development.
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