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Albanian anti-corruption prosecutors on Tuesday froze the bank accounts of a landholding company tied to a controversial $4 billion luxury resort project backed by Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law. The escalating crisis over the coastal development has triggered mass protests, a sharp diplomatic rift with neighboring Greece, and stern warnings from the European Union.
The preventive seizure, ordered by the Special Prosecution Against Corruption and Organized Crime, targeted Albania Land Development amid a widening investigation into allegedly fraudulent property titles. The company, owned by the prominent Qatari entrepreneurs Moutaz and Ramez Al-Khayyat, recently purchased beachfront plots in Zvërnec. The protected coastal area along the Adriatic Sea, near the southern city of Vlora, is where Kushner’s investment firm, Affinity Partners, plans to build an elite mega-resort.
The legal intervention follows days of intense public unrest. Over the weekend, thousands of demonstrators marched through the capital, Tirana, under the banner “Albania Is Not for Sale.” Environmental groups and local residents are protesting the development’s encroachment on the Pishë-Poro-Nartë protected area, a sensitive Mediterranean wetland critical for flamingos and nesting sea turtles.
Public outrage boiled over after recent clashes between local residents and private guards hired to secure the construction site. Viral footage from the site showed a guard punching and dragging a protester away from the fenced-off beach.
In response to the violence, the State Police announced an internal investigation into the command structure of the Vlora Regional Police Directorate. Authorities also arrested Gerald Biba, a 32-year-old employee of the private firm Major Security, charging him with unlawful deprivation of liberty and intentional minor injury.
Prime Minister Edi Rama of Albania condemned the guards' actions as "disgusting," but fiercely defended the resort project as the country's ticket to the "Champions League" of global tourism. He asserted that five top international architecture firms are redesigning the masterplan to safeguard the environment, emphasizing that the lagoon itself will not be touched.
Rama also defended the foreign backers of the project, while validating the investigation into the local land sellers.
"The investors are within their rights. Blocking the transaction is arbitrary and negative," Rama said. "However, blocking the transfer of money to the owner who is under suspicion is welcome. If the investigation finds that there are individuals who have fraudulently claimed ownership, the money should go to those who are the legitimate owners."
The violence has caused severe friction with Athens, elevating a local land dispute to an international diplomatic incident.
Greece’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed "deep concern" over the incidents in Zvërnec, confirming that a Greek citizen was among the injured residents protesting for their property rights. The Greek Embassy in Tirana provided medical assistance to the victim and formally filed representations to the Albanian government demanding accountability.
Athens also issued a broader warning tied to Tirana's aspirations for Western integration, stating that upholding minority property rights and protecting ecological areas are "a prerequisite for progress in the accession process."
Rama dismissed the diplomatic intervention from Athens, countering that historical property disputes must be settled strictly in Albanian courts rather than through external political framing.
However, the European Commission echoed Greece's rule-of-law and environmental concerns, throwing Albania’s European Union aspirations into sharper focus. A Commission spokesperson warned that Brussels is closely monitoring the protected landscape.
"As stated in our 2025 annual report, the repeated extension of the law on strategic investments continues to raise concerns about possible environmental impacts, particularly in protected areas," the spokesperson said, adding that Albania must demonstrate total compliance with European conservation standards to advance its membership bid.
