Albania freezes $195M in land deals for Kushner-linked luxury resort
SPAK prosecutors seize accounts as Flamingo Revolution protests enter day seven.
Albanian anti-corruption prosecutors have frozen the bank accounts of Albania Land Development, the company behind a luxury resort project backed by Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners. The preventive seizure, ordered by SPAK (Special Prosecution Against Corruption and Organised Crime), targets approximately $195 million transferred for beachfront plots in Zvernec, near Vlora. SPAK is investigating how land titles in the protected Vjosa-Narta coastal wetland were acquired and how the area was stripped of its protected status through a 2024 parliamentary reclassification. The land is owned by Syrian-Qatari brothers Moutaz and Ramez Al-Khayyat, who are also linked to additional deals.
Protests, dubbed the "Flamingo Revolution," have entered their seventh consecutive day, challenging both the environmental impact and Prime Minister Edi Rama's handling of foreign investors. Kushner's Affinity Partners separately secured strategic investor status for a $1.4 billion Aman-branded eco-resort on Sazan island, with state-funded infrastructure. Rama defends the investors as legitimate while supporting the corruption probe, accusing international media of exaggerating attention due to Kushner's Trump ties. The asset freeze adds legal and diplomatic pressure on Rama's government, testing EU accountability and public trust in anti-corruption efforts.
- SPAK froze ~$195M in accounts of Albania Land Development, owned by the Al-Khayyat brothers, as part of a property-fraud investigation into land titles in a protected wetland.
- Two projects: a $1.4B Aman eco-resort on Sazan island (Kushner's Affinity Partners) and a larger mainland development in Zvernec, enabled by 2024 special legislation reclassifying protected areas.
- Protests (Flamingo Revolution) have lasted 7 days, challenging PM Rama's government and testing EU accountability for foreign investor protections.
Why It Matters
This case tests Albania's anti-corruption resolve and EU standards for protecting foreign investments over environmental and public interests.