Man who sold land for Kushner-backed Albania resort facing criminal probe

An Albanian-American man who sold land for a possible luxury development backed by President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner is under investigation for alleged drug trafficking and money laundering, Albanian court records reviewed by CBS News show. 

The controversial plans to build resorts in long-protected natural coastal areas have sparked mass protests in Albania’s capital Tirana.

Artur Shehu, a Miami resident with dual U.S. and Albanian nationality, is being investigated by Albanian prosecutors who allege there is “sufficient evidence” of his “involvement in drug trafficking criminal activity,” and “sufficient data” suggesting he falsified financial documents around other real estate and construction projects, according to court filings dated June 10, which were obtained by CBS News. 

Florida public records link Shehu to an address in Miami Beach. 

Albania’s independent anti-corruption body SPAK said last month that it had issued arrest warrants for 15 Albanian citizens for alleged international drug trafficking and money laundering, but it had not identified the individuals involved. 

Thousands of Albanians have taken to the streets of the country’s capital Tirana for over a month in protests sparked by concerns over the luxury tourism development — and a law permitting it — in a natural beauty area. 

Kushner, who is married to Mr. Trump’s eldest daughter Ivanka, is among a group of investors seeking to build a luxury tourism complex along the country’s Adriatic coastline. 

Kushner announced his involvement in the project in 2024, and Ivanka referenced her and her husband’s plans for the resort while speaking to the “Founders” podcast last month. 

The anger over the plans for Zvërnec, a historically protected area rich in wildlife, grew quickly into a wider movement against alleged corruption in the Albanian government and the country’s ruling elite. Activists have dubbed the protests “the flamingo revolution,” in reference to some of the wildlife they say the tourism development would threaten.

Shehu sold some of the land earmarked for the project to the Albania Land Development LLC, a company linked to investors including Kushner. 

In addition to the investigations revealed by the court documents, he’s also facing scrutiny from Albanian authorities related to that transaction.

The Organized Crime and Corruption Project (OCCRP), a global non-profit investigative news outlet, reported last month that it had obtained an Albanian court order noting a frozen bank account containing more than $127 million originating from the sale of land “between parties Artur Shehu and Albanian Land Development.”

CBS News sought to obtain that court order this week, and a spokesperson for Albania’s Special Court Against Corruption and Organized Crime acknowledged its existence, but said the court could not release the document as the case “is currently at the stage of preliminary investigations.”

The OCCRP also reported last month that SPAK prosecutors were investigating whether the land earmarked for the development had been acquired by Shehu fraudulently.

A spokesperson for SPAK confirmed to CBS News in June that it had opened an investigation into the planned development, but the agency said the probe “does not concern any company associated with Mr. Kushner.”

2013 court records reviewed by CBS News show Shehu’s previous ownership of the land had been disputed by residents in Zvërnec, who claimed they had rights to the area. Those residents are still actively legally challenging Shehu’s right to sell the land, according to the Albanian prime minister’s office. 

Shehu told an Albanian TV show last month that his claim on the land was “undisputed” and that he sold it to investors through a middleman, whom he did not name. He said he did not know who had purchased the land, Reuters reported last month.

Public filings show Albania Land Development, the company Shehu sold the land to, is owned by a complicated structure of shell companies, including Sazan Real Estate Development LLC, a firm incorporated in Qatar. 

Last month, CBS News contacted Kushner’s investment firm Affinity Partners for comment on the development. The company referred CBS News to Sazan Real Estate Development, and a spokesperson for that firm said it represented all investors in the project “who are involved in their personal capacity.”

CBS News has sought comment from both Shehu and Sazan Real Estate Development LLC regarding the investigations and they had not responded by time of publication.

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