Thousands of Albanians have taken to the streets of Tirana over consecutive days to protest a planned $1.6bn luxury coastal resort linked to Jared Kushner's Miami-based investment firm Affinity Partners and Ivanka Trump, as Albania's special anti-corruption prosecutor's office, SPAK, confirmed it has opened a formal investigation into the project. SPAK said the probe is expected to examine changes to the protected status of the Vjosa-Narta area, the bypassing of public tender procedures, and the origin of funds used to purchase land titles [Source: France 24].
The planned development spans two sites along the Adriatic coast: the protected delta area of Vjosa-Narta and the nearby uninhabited island of Sazan, a former secret communist military base. Groundwork has already begun, with excavators and heavy machinery opening access routes, digging into sand, clearing land among pine trees and installing fencing. Builders also erected a concrete-based, barbed wire-topped fence around the site, prompting public outrage. Protesters clashed with private security guards in the region after gathering to register anger at the newly installed barbed wire blocking access to the beach, and police fired water cannon at demonstrators during scuffles in Tirana.
BirdLife International said the Karaburun-Sazan Marine Park waters are among the last places where Mediterranean monk seals survive, and the area supports populations of flamingos and Dalmatian pelicans as well as 200 other bird species [Source: UPI]. In January 2026, around 40 environmental organisations called for suspension of the resort plans, citing threats to biodiversity [Source: Al Jazeera].
Sazan Real Estate Development is developing the project in partnership with Affinity Partners. Asher Abehsera, chairman of Sazan Real Estate Development, described the firm as managing the project with a variety of investors, and said it is committed to 'responsible stewardship, environmental enhancement and job creation' [Source: UPI]. Affinity Partners, which Kushner founded in 2021, referred press questions to a public relations agency. The Albanian government separately said the investors in the Zvernec component of the project are the two co-owners of Power International Holding W.L.L from Qatar. In late 2024, the Albanian government granted 'strategic investor' status to Atlantic Incubation Partners, believed to be linked to Affinity Partners, giving access to fast-track administrative procedures. Prime Minister Edi Rama has staked his premiership on the project, billing it a developmental coup for the former communist state, though an offer from Rama to meet with opponents was rejected [Source: UPI]. Rama has separately referenced a wider four-billion-euro project encompassing the Vlora area, distinct from the $1.6bn Sazan figure [Source: Al Jazeera].
The Albanian controversy follows a similar pattern in Serbia, where parliament passed a special law in November 2025 to enable a luxury complex in Belgrade linked to an investment company connected to Kushner. The following month, Serbia's prosecutor for organised crime charged four people, including a government minister, with abuse of office and falsifying documents in connection with that development. Kushner subsequently withdrew from the planned Belgrade investment. Affinity Partners' largest investor is Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, which committed $2 billion to the firm; five other foreign investors, including sovereign wealth funds from Qatar and the UAE, have committed a further $1 billion [Source: U.S. Senate Finance Committee]. Affinity Partners is privately held, and no publicly listed equity is directly exposed to the Albanian project.
Sources: The Guardian, BBC News, France 24, UPI, Al Jazeera, PBS NewsHour, U.S. Senate Finance Committee