A Miami-based tycoon wanted in Albania for allegedly laundering drug money is suspected of faking the deeds to land where Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner wants to build a controversial multi-billion dollar resort, the country’s organised crime agency said in case files reviewed by Reuters.
Albanian-American national Artur Shehu, is accused of trafficking South American cocaine into European ports with associates, and laundering the funds by using them to establish a real estate empire, including with falsified land ownership documents.
His lawyer, Kujtim Cakrani, said that Shehu denied all the accusations against him and confirmed that Albanian prosecutors had issued a warrant seeking Shehu’s arrest for laundering cash for drug gangs.
"Nothing that has been alleged regarding Artur Shehu's character is true. He is neither a drug trafficker nor a forger of property documents," Cakrani said.
"Mr Shehu is aware of the allegations made by the Albanian prosecution. These allegations do not concern him because he maintains that the truth is entirely different from what the prosecution claims."
A U.S. Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment on whether it had received any request from Albania to locate or detain Shehu in Miami.
In April, Shehu sold a strip of Albanian coastline on Sazan, the Balkan nation’s largest island, to Albania Land Development, a firm which is owned by the Kushner-backed project’s developers Sazan Real Estate Development and other investors.
In the case files, prosecutors wrote that there were “reasonable suspicions,” that the assets were acquired through the use of “forged documents.”
The documents make no allegation of wrongdoing against U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law Kushner, Sazan Real Estate Development, Albania Land Development or other investors in the resort project.
Reuters found no indication that any investors were aware of any suspicions about Shehu when they bought the land from him.
A spokesperson for Sazan Real Estate Development did not address the allegations against Shehu when Reuters asked about them, but said the company believed the land acquisitions were legitimate. Albania Land Development did not respond to requests for comment.
A spokesperson for Kushner declined to comment. While Sazan has confirmed Kushner is an investor in the project, the precise nature of his role or extent of his investment has not been made public.
The allegation that ownership documents for the land the resort is supposed to be built on are fake is another set back for the wider luxury $4 billion project, which is already facing mass protests in Albania over environmental concerns.
Protesters fear development of the effectively uninhabited Sazan Island and the wider investment plans which include a luxury development near the village of Zvërnec, close to the Vjosa–Narta Protected Landscape will harm wildlife.
The Kushner-backed development is planned along a stretch of wild beaches, forest and a wetland home to sea turtles and flamingoes. The birds have become symbols for opponents of the project, who call their protests the "Flamingo Revolution".
Residents of the village of Zvërnec have been contesting Shehu's claim on coastal land in court cases that date back more than a decade.
Last month, a dozen of them showed Reuters title deeds and tax records that they said proved they were the rightful owners of the land. Their lawyer, Kostandin Beko, said the case is still open and they plan to seek a court order to halt the resort project.
Albania's government has strongly backed the development plans and has accused the protests of being staged by political opponents. Prime Minister Edi Rama last month said that it was a "beautiful" project and would go ahead regardless.
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