Albania probes forged land deal tied to Kushner resort project

Albanian prosecutors have put the Zvernec coastline parcel at the center of a forgery probe over Artur Shehu’s use of false property documents in the sale tied to Jared Kushner’s planned resort near Vlora.

Prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for Shehu, a Miami-based businessman wanted in Albania on allegations that include laundering money for drug gangs. They believe Shehu and associates trafficked cocaine from South America into European ports and funneled the proceeds through a real-estate empire that depended, at least in part, on falsified deeds and ownership records. Prosecutors wrote that they had “reasonable suspicions” the assets were acquired through forged documents.

The disputed land was sold in April to Albania Land Development, which is tied to Sazan Real Estate Development and other investors behind the Kushner-backed resort plan. The files make no allegation of wrongdoing against Kushner, Sazan Real Estate Development, Albania Land Development or the other investors. There is no indication that any of them knew about the suspicions surrounding Shehu when the purchase was made. A company spokesman said the land acquisitions were believed to be legitimate, while Kushner’s spokesman declined to comment.

The exact size of Kushner’s role and the extent of his investment have not been made public. The deal was signed in April. The resort’s permitting path had already drawn attention after the National Territorial Council, headed by Prime Minister Edi Rama, approved development permits for Zvërnec South Adriatic Development in January and April 2025. Those permits had not been officially published, and preparatory fencing work began before the full review process was complete.

The project site sits inside the protected Pishë Poro-Narta, or Vjosa-Narta, landscape, where environmental groups and protesters have warned that construction threatens flamingos, migratory birds, monk seals and sea turtles. Weeks of demonstrations have already brought clashes around fencing and construction activity. The broader resort could include as many as 10,000 hotel rooms and more than 10,000 jobs. A U.S. Justice Department spokesperson declined to say whether it had received any request from Albania to locate or detain Shehu in Miami.