Zvernec / Sazan resort: corporate chain, land and SPAK probe
Status: Open. SPAK investigation ongoing per reporting to 21 June 2026. No charges against Kushner or Affinity found.
Summary
A luxury resort project on Sazan Island and at Zvernec (Vlore), linked in reporting to Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners and to the Qatari Al-Khayyat brothers. Reporting by Citizens.al, Reporter.al (BIRN) and Follow the Money describes a chain of Dutch and Albanian companies (Dutch Trust Management, Blue Industries, Universal Properties Projects BV, Zvernec South Adriatic Development, Albania Land Development, Sazan Operations Holding), with ownership not fully public. Government says Kushner's firm made an unsolicited offer; the Prime Minister says no agreement for Sazan has been concluded. SPAK opened an investigation on 1 June 2026 into changes to the protected area's status and land ownership made in 2024, and reportedly froze bank accounts of Albania Land Development in June 2026. Protests followed.
Key facts
- Kushner announced plans to invest in Sazan and Zvernec in March 2024 (Reporter.al/BIRN summary).
- Strategic investor status granted by the government in January 2025 to an entity linked to Affinity (Citizens.al).
- Zvernec South Adriatic Development established August 2024 (Reporter.al/BIRN).
- Development agreement signed 7 May 2026; shares of Universal Properties Projects BV (306,000 euro) transferred to Sazan Development Holding in May 2026 (Citizens.al).
- Albania Land Development passed to Sazan Operations Holding for 10,000 euro in November 2025 (Citizens.al).
- SPAK investigation opened 1 June 2026 (SPAK confirmation as reported by search summaries).
What is proven
Established by documents or official records, as stated in the research. A recorded charge or indictment proves only that the accusation was made.
- Corporate documents show the transfer of shares and the 10,000 euro ALD transfer as reported by Citizens.al; primary registry not opened in this run.
What is alleged
Accusations, not findings. Those accused are presumed innocent.
- Ultimate beneficial owners are Al-Khayyat group members (reported; not confirmed by company filings read).
- Redi Struga as intermediary and owner through Smart Construction Invest (BIRN).
Allegations and who made them
- Land was granted through changes to protected status and land ownership in 2024 (SPAK probe, per Follow the Money / Europeanwesternbalkans).
- Land sales and property titles alleged to be false (Reuters, as summarised by Ground News; allegation only).
- Al-Khayyat group access to about 12 billion euro in construction contracts (NYT, as cited by Follow the Money; not verified).
Open questions
- Who is the ultimate beneficial owner of Zvernec South Adriatic Development? Citizens.al says Universal Properties Projects BV, BIRN says a chain managed by Dutch Trust Management owned by Redi Struga.
- Exact value of the Albania Land Development land deal: a search summary reports 5.5 million euro rising to 122 million; not opened.
- Whether the 29 April 2026 NTC decision (no. 5) is a construction permit; government says it is not.
Responses
Responses of the people and organisations concerned, as recorded.
- Government/Rama: no agreement concluded for Sazan; Kushner among potential investors (Reporter.al summary of Rama statement).
- Kushner and Affinity Partners did not respond to requests about SPAK probe (Citizens.al 2026-06-21).
- Albania Land Development / Redi Struga did not respond to BIRN (per Reporter.al summary); Feriare Ndreu did not respond.
Figures
Money trail →Zvernec South Adriatic Development capital increase
€250,000
otherSource label: Under investigationCredible reporting or investigative material that a court has not established.Stated definition: Capital raised from 50,000 to 250,000 euro two days before the 7 May 2026 agreement, per Citizens.al. Capital increase, not a contract price.
Date: May 2026 · Payer: Shareholders (not named in fetched text) · Payee: Zvernec South Adriatic Development sh.p.k
- Documents that reveal who is taking control of Zvereni and Sazan (opens in a new tab)Citizens.al · 8 Jun 2026 · journalism · EN
Albania Land Development transferred to Sazan Operations Holding
€10,000
Incomplete figurepaymentSource label: Under investigationCredible reporting or investigative material that a court has not established.Stated definition: 10,000 euro per Citizens.al (2026-06-08). A separate search summary reports a land sale of 5.5 million euro (Artur Shehu to ALD, 21 Nov 2025) with value rising to 122 million under prosecutor review; that source was not opened and is UNVERIFIED. INCOMPLETE.
Date: Nov 2025 · Payer: Sazan Operations Holding (Doha) · Payee: Albania Land Development sh.p.k (shareholder transfer)
- Documents that reveal who is taking control of Zvereni and Sazan (opens in a new tab)Citizens.al · 8 Jun 2026 · journalism · EN
Kushner and associates investment, narrative figure
€1,000,000,000
Incomplete figureotherSource label: Under investigationCredible reporting or investigative material that a court has not established.Stated definition: 'One billion euros for the island' per Follow the Money narrative (Citizens.al 2026-06-21). Not verified against any company filing; separately Balkan press cites about 1.4 billion dollars or 1.5 billion dollars for the total project. INCOMPLETE and conflicting.
Date: Jun 2026 · Payer: Kushner and associates (as narrated) · Payee: Sazan project (undetermined)
- Corruption investigation into Trump's son-in-law's Albanian resort leads to Holland (opens in a new tab)Citizens.al (Follow the Money) · 21 Jun 2026 · journalism · EN
Al-Khayyat Group access to construction contracts (NYT, as cited)
€12,000,000,000
Incomplete figurecontractSource label: Under investigationCredible reporting or investigative material that a court has not established.Stated definition: 'About twelve billion euros' per New York Times as cited by Follow the Money (Citizens.al 2026-06-21). Attribution is second-hand. INCOMPLETE: no breakdown by contract or project.
Date: Jun 2026 · Payer: Government / public contracting authorities (as implied) · Payee: Al-Khayyat Group
- Corruption investigation into Trump's son-in-law's Albanian resort leads to Holland (opens in a new tab)Citizens.al (Follow the Money) · 21 Jun 2026 · journalism · EN
Payment to personal holding of Zoya Gyurova
€400,000
paymentSource label: Under investigationCredible reporting or investigative material that a court has not established.Stated definition: EUR 400,000 'poured into a personal holding company' per Follow the Money, from her annual financial report. Source of the funds not stated in the summary read.
Date: Jun 2026 · Payer: Dutch / Strik-linked structure (per FTM, not precisely stated) · Payee: Personal holding company of Zoya Gyurova
- Corruption investigation into Trump's son-in-law's Albanian resort leads to Holland (opens in a new tab)Citizens.al (Follow the Money) · 21 Jun 2026 · journalism · EN
Timeline
Full timeline →Government
Government grants strategic investor status to Kushner-linked entity
Citizens.al reports the Albanian government granted strategic investor status to an entity linked to Kushner (Atlantic Incubation Partners per search summaries). The Investment Committee decision reportedly no longer mentions Zvernec (per a Jan 2025 report summarised in search results).
Other
Albania Land Development passes to Sazan Operations Holding for 10,000 euro
Citizens.al (2026-06-08) reports the transfer of Albania Land Development to Sazan Operations Holding in November 2025 for 10,000 euro. Exact day not given in the fetched text; Day unknown; 1 November is a placeholder for the month only.
Other
Development agreement signed for Zvernec South Adriatic Development; capital raised to 250,000 euro
Citizens.al (2026-06-08): agreement signed 7 May; capital raised from 50,000 to 250,000 euro two days before; shown in Central Bank records on 3 June (per the article). Universal Properties Projects BV shares (306,000 euro) transferred to Sazan Development Holding in May 2026.
Media
Reporter.al / BIRN investigation on hidden ownership of Zvernec developer
Reporter.al with BIRN reports the developer's ownership is hidden through a Dutch trust structure (Dutch Trust Management BV), that two development permits were secured within eight months, and that the company claims agreements with owners of more than 2.5 million m2 of land (per article summary). Article body partly read.
SPAK
SPAK confirms investigation into Sazan/Zvernec protected-area and land changes
SPAK confirmed on 1 June 2026 it opened an investigation into contentious changes to the protected area status and land ownership made in 2024 to permit tourism development (per search summaries). Europeanwesternbalkans (2 June 2026) and Citizens.al (21 June 2026) report the probe; SPAK did not, per reporting, attribute actions to companies or persons. Accounts of Albania Land Development frozen about 2 June 2026 (search summary).
Media
Follow the Money report traces resort financing to Dutch shell companies
Follow the Money (republished by Citizens.al) traces Dutch shell companies in Amsterdam, Dutch Trust Management BV, Strik Tax and Legal, and the Al-Khayyat transfer. Attributes SPAK only with the land-granting investigation. Says about 1 billion euro put up by Kushner and associates (narrative claim) and about 12 billion euro of construction contracts for the Al-Khayyat Group (per NYT).
Connections
Alleged relationship←Jared KushnerSource label: Under investigationCredible reporting or investigative material that a court has not established.
Named as investor; Rama says no agreement concluded
Evidence: Reporter.al summary: Rama said no agreement has been concluded for Sazan and confirmed Kushner is among potential investors. Sazan says Kushner is an investor (search summary). SPAK probe reportedly does not involve Kushner-linked companies.