Ivanka and Jared Project Ensnared by Fresh Scandal Over Accused Mobster
The Daily Beast • • world
Key Points:
- Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner plan to develop a $1.4 billion luxury resort on Albania's Sazan island and a $4.7 billion hotel project along the Zvërnec coastline, sparking protests over potential environmental harm to wildlife such as flamingos and sea turtles.
- Local villagers claim their land was wrongfully sold by Artur Shehu, an accused gangster with alleged ties to organized crime and money laundering, who sold the property despite a 2013 Albanian court ruling recognizing the villagers as rightful owners.
- The dispute has led to legal action by residents seeking to halt the project, amid reports of restricted access to the land and the erection of barbed-wire fences preventing locals from reaching their property.
- Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama defends the development, stating construction permits have not yet been granted and downplaying the scale of protests, while conservation groups and opposition leaders criticize the lack of transparency and political influence in the project.
- Neither Ivanka Trump nor Jared Kushner have been implicated in any wrongdoing related to the land dispute, but the controversy has intensified tensions in Albania over the environmental and social impact of the proposed resort.