Protests sparked by Kushner-backed resort plans gain steam in Albania

Thousands of Albanians have taken to the streets of the country's capital Tirana for 21 consecutive days in protests sparked by concerns over a Jared Kushner-backed luxury tourism development in an area rich in natural beauty.

Anger over the construction plans for the historically protected Pishë Poro-Narta area on the country's coast have expanded into a wider movement against alleged corruption in the Albanian government and the country's ruling elite. 

Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law, is among a group of investors seeking to build a luxury tourism complex on Albania's Sazan Island and along the country's Adriatic coastline. Early planning documents reviewed by CBS News show the project could include 800 guest rooms and suites, luxury villas, a golf course, a casino, a water park, and townhouses and apartments.

CBS News sought comment from Kushner's firm Affinity Partners earlier this month to confirm his involvement in the project. The company referred CBS News to Sazan Real Estate Development, and a spokesperson for that firm said it represented all investors in the project "who are involved in their personal capacity." 

"This project is still in its design and iterative phase, with our team continuing to refine scope, approach, and vision through a deliberate process that prioritizes environmental stewardship and showcases the country's natural beauty. We look forward to continued engagement about the potential of this project and its potential to make Albania even more of a global destination," a Sazan Real Estate spokesperson said in a June 18 statement to CBS News. 

The planning documents also shed light on who else is financially backing the deal. Among the parties involved is the Qatar-based Assets Group, run by brothers Moutaz and Ramez Al Khayyat, Syrian-born billionaires with ties to the Qatari royal family, and to Washington. 

They attended President Trump's inauguration, and according to the New York Times, their brother Mohamad Al Khayyat previously lobbied U.S. lawmakers to lift sanctions on Syria and pitched the idea of developing a Trump-branded golf course in the country.

A representative for Sazan Real Estate confirmed the involvement of the Al Khayyat brothers in the project to CBS News on Thursday.

Corporate filings reviewed by CBS News on Monday appear to show Sazan Real Estate was initially registered and formed in Qatar. The documents cite the Al Khayyat's Assets Group as a partner of the company. 

The filings also appear to show that Sazan Real Estate is the parent company of  Zvërnec South Adriatic Development. According to local reporting, Zvërnec South Adriatic Development is the firm that holds the development permit to build on the land in Sazan island and along the Pishë Poro-Narta coastline.

The documents reviewed by CBS News also reveal that Zvërnec South Adriatic Development is controlled by a complicated structure of five different shell companies registered and formed in Amsterdam, Netherlands. 

Albanian activists have told CBS News that a lack of transparency from the government — both over this project and wider issues related to alleged corruption — are driving the outrage behind the protests, which have become some of the largest seen in Albania since the fall of communism in the country in 1991.

"There was no public consultation whatsoever," Aleksandr Trajce, executive director of the country's leading conservation group, Protection and Preservation of the Natural Environment in Albania (PPNEA), told CBS News earlier this month. "There was nobody who was informed. Just one day, we saw bulldozers entering outside, opening up roads, cutting trees, destroying the dunes, and so on. So the public knew nothing."

Prime Minister Edi Rama, who has led Albania since 2013, has insisted the project will go ahead despite the mounting public pressure. 

He championed the development as a potential economic boon for the country, which has one of the lowest rates of GDP per capita in Europe.

Rama's socialist administration has been embroiled in a corruption scandal since charges were filed late last year against Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku, a close ally of the leader. The country's parliament, led by a socialist majority, has blocked her arrest, however.

A spokesperson for Albania's independent anti-corruption body SPAK confirmed to CBS News last week that it had opened an investigation into a planned development, but they said the investigation does "not concern any company associated with Mr. Kushner."

CBS News traveled with protesters earlier this month to the Zvërnec area on Albania's southern coast, where some of the development is planned. There was no trace of bulldozers or building equipment beyond some tire tracks on the beach. 

Demonstrators attributed that to an effort by the Albanian government to quell public anger over the project, but they also told CBS News that initial work toward the development plans had already caused environmental damage. 

A local environmental officer with PPNEA told CBS News the group had documented the destruction of at least one sea turtle nest in the area by bulldozers.

As protests continue, Sazan Real Estate Development told CBS News the development's "future will ultimately be determined by Albania and the Albanian people."