Inside the SPAK Probe, Environmental Protests, and Political Battle Over Kushner's Albanian Megaresort

The project is linked to Affinity Partners, the investment firm founded by Jared Kushner, son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump. The plans involve up to 10,000 hotel rooms on the uninhabited Adriatic island of Sazan and across several hundred hectares of the protected coastal landscape .

Adding to the scrutiny, the New York Times reported in August 2025 that the Albanian government changed its construction law in protected areas in a way that favored Kushner's project. A spokesperson for Prime Minister Edi Rama denied the claim at the time, stating that the legislative changes were not made specifically for any single investor . The independent outlet Jacobin later detailed how the government rapidly changed laws to allow luxury developments in protected areas, quoting a local environmental officer who said, "If you are a ‘strategic investor’, you can break the law, because our government is nothing but a mafia" .

The formal project approval came on December 30, when the Strategic Investment Committee headed by Prime Minister Rama granted "strategic investor status" to Atlantic Incubation Partners LLC, a company linked to Kushner, for a 45-hectare development with a planned investment of €1.4 billion at that time . The approved scope and projected investment have since expanded to roughly €4 billion .

Protests Escalate: From Tirana Streets to Violent Clashes

Public opposition to the project has intensified dramatically. On Monday, June 1, thousands of protesters marched through the capital Tirana, with demonstrations continuing into a second day on Tuesday, June 2 . Marchers chanted slogans such as "Albania belongs to Albanians" and "Albania is not for sale" while carrying placards reading "Hands off Vjosa-Narta" . The protest route took demonstrators from Skanderbeg Square to the prime minister's office .

The situation turned violent on Saturday, May 30, during a demonstration at the resort site itself. Reports indicate that one member of Albania's Greek ethnic minority was injured during clashes . The Albanian police issued a statement claiming that a group of protesters resorted to violence and damaged construction site fencing. However, protest accounts reported that private security guards used pepper spray and detained a demonstrator .

The core grievances driving the protests are environmental and procedural. Activists and environmental NGOs accuse the government of allowing preliminary construction work to continue without consultation or transparency on a protected landscape . Klajdi Belo, an activist attending the demonstrations, stated, "The situation in Narta is that, in practice, we have a protected area, but above all, our state has allowed construction work to continue without consultation and without transparency" .

The opposition extends beyond Albania's borders. In January 2026, 41 environmental organizations from 28 countries sent a letter to Prime Minister Rama urging the government to immediately suspend the project and instead declare Sazan Island a national environmental protected area. The letter stated the project "poses serious risks to the biodiversity and critical habitats of the area" .

Concerns are also acute among the local Greek ethnic minority, whose families have lived in the region for generations and who fear the project will threaten their land and property rights .

Edi Rama's Defense: A Transformational Investment or a Mafia State?

Prime Minister Edi Rama has responded to the mounting pressure with a full-throated defense of the development. On Monday, June 1, he publicly rejected demands to halt preliminary construction work on the Adriatic coast, framing the €4 billion resort as a transformational investment for Albania's economy and tourism sector .

Rama argued that the project is capable of elevating the country’s tourism industry and attracting wealthier international visitors, positioning it as a generational economic opportunity . Speaking earlier about the plans, Rama described the ambition to turn Sazan into "a gem in the golden crown of tourism in the Mediterranean" .

Regarding the allegations of corruption and tailored legislation, Rama's office has consistently denied wrongdoing. A spokesperson previously stated that the construction law changes were "not made specifically for Kushner" and that the legal framework was not tailored to any single investor .

Critics, however, argue the entire process has been marked by a lack of transparency and competition. Reporting by Citizens.al notes that the proposal came as an unsolicited offer, was advanced without public discussion, and was approved without an open international tender . The same investigation describes a decision-making model characterized by the "concentration of public assets in a few hands, linked to political and financial power, through direct negotiations, without transparency, without competition and without accountability" .

As SPAK's investigation continues and protests show no signs of abating, the Kushner-linked resort project has crystallized a broader national debate about whether Albania can balance transformative foreign investment with environmental stewardship, the rule of law, and transparent governance.