Open Society Foundations
Ownership as documented
Founded by George Soros. Governance details are in OSF public materials and were not re-verified in this run.
Conflicting records. The research disagrees; every version is shown and none has been chosen as correct.
- Name
- Open Society FoundationsFrom the research record · cites:
- Open Society Foundations fact sheet on Albania (2018) (opens in a new tab)Open Society Foundations · 21 Feb 2018 · official · EN
- Open Society Foundations (OSF)From the research record · cites:
- Open Society Foundations and Fondacioni Shoqëria e Hapur dhe Xhorxh Soros (fact sheet, Albanian, 2018) (opens in a new tab)Open Society Foundations · 21 Feb 2018 · ngo · SQ
- Open Society FoundationsFrom the research record · cites:
- Type
- ngoFrom the research record · cites:
- Open Society Foundations fact sheet on Albania (2018) (opens in a new tab)Open Society Foundations · 21 Feb 2018 · official · EN
- internationalFrom the research record · cites:
- Open Society Foundations and Fondacioni Shoqëria e Hapur dhe Xhorxh Soros (fact sheet, Albanian, 2018) (opens in a new tab)Open Society Foundations · 21 Feb 2018 · ngo · SQ
- ngoFrom the research record · cites:
- Country
- United States (headquarters); global networkFrom the research record · cites:
- Open Society Foundations fact sheet on Albania (2018) (opens in a new tab)Open Society Foundations · 21 Feb 2018 · official · EN
- United States (network with offices worldwide)From the research record · cites:
- Alex Soros Praises PM Rama as Inspiring World Leader (opens in a new tab)Albanian Daily News · 3 Sep 2021 · journalism · EN
- United States / internationalFrom the research record · cites:
- Open Society Foundations and Fondacioni Shoqëria e Hapur dhe Xhorxh Soros (fact sheet, Albanian, 2018) (opens in a new tab)Open Society Foundations · 21 Feb 2018 · ngo · SQ
- US (global network)From the research record · cites:
- OSF responds to Ilir Meta's 'plot' accusation (Shqiptarja) (opens in a new tab)Shqiptarja · 8 Jul 2019 · journalism · SQ
- United States (headquarters); global networkFrom the research record · cites:
- Ownership
- Founded by George Soros. Governance details are in OSF public materials and were not re-verified in this run.From the research record · cites:
- Open Society Foundations fact sheet on Albania (2018) (opens in a new tab)Open Society Foundations · 21 Feb 2018 · official · EN
- Founded and funded by George Soros; governance by its board. Full funding records are published by the network but were not reviewed here.From the research record · cites:
- Alex Soros Praises PM Rama as Inspiring World Leader (opens in a new tab)Albanian Daily News · 3 Sep 2021 · journalism · EN
- Founded and endowed by George Soros; governed through its own boards.From the research record · cites:
- Open Society Foundations and Fondacioni Shoqëria e Hapur dhe Xhorxh Soros (fact sheet, Albanian, 2018) (opens in a new tab)Open Society Foundations · 21 Feb 2018 · ngo · SQ
- Founded by George Soros; governance per OSF public materials (not re-checked here).From the research record · cites:
- OSF responds to Ilir Meta's 'plot' accusation (Shqiptarja) (opens in a new tab)Shqiptarja · 8 Jul 2019 · journalism · SQ
- Founded by George Soros; governance structure in the existingfile.From the research record · cites:
- Open Society Foundations newsroom: Open Society Foundations in Albania (opens in a new tab)Open Society Foundations · unknown · official · EN
- Founded and funded by George Soros; OSF materials describe a governance structure with national foundations.From the research record · cites:
- Director, OSF Western Balkans: Andi Dobrushi participant profile (opens in a new tab)Budapest Forum · undated · ngo · EN
- Founded by George Soros. Governance details are in OSF public materials and were not re-verified in this run.From the research record · cites:
Description
Global philanthropic network founded by George Soros. It funds civil society, justice, media and education programs in many countries, including Albania. It is the subject of the Berisha claims discussed in this file.
Other accounts in the research (1 field worded differently)
This record appears in more than one research record. The main text above comes from one; the other versions are kept here unedited.
- Description
- Global philanthropic network founded by George Soros. It funds civil society, justice, media and education programs in many countries, including Albania. It is the subject of the Berisha claims discussed in this file.From the research record
- Grant-making network founded by George Soros. Alex Soros is described as a Vice President in 2021 coverage. Its Albania arm is OSFA.From the research record
- The global network founded by George Soros. Its 2018 Albanian fact sheet says the network has over 1,500 staff and that its foundations do not provide more than 33% of the funding of most organisations they work with. The network's global expenditure figures were not readable in the documents retrieved.From the research record
- Network founded by George Soros. In 2019 its communications head responded to Ilir Meta's Soros-plot claim (sor-lab-claim-016). No 2026 statement on the Zvernec or student protests was found in sources read.From the research record
- Network of foundations founded by George Soros. Funds OSFA and other national and regional bodies.From the research record
- Network founded by George Soros. Its Western Balkans office is led by Andi Dobrushi (per Budapest Forum bio). OSF's Justice Initiative is named on Darian Pavli's ECHR CV.From the research record
Contracts and money
Figures recorded for the cases linked to this organisation. A figure here is not necessarily paid to or by this organisation; check payer and payee.
OSFA 2016 project funding (all programmes)
No amount recorded
paymentSource label: Officially reportedStated definition: USD 2.2 million, per OSF 2017 fact sheet. The currency is USD, so the EUR field is left null.
Date: 2016 · Payer: Open Society Foundations · Payee: OSFA grantees and programmes
- Open Society Foundations in Albania: a brief history (fact sheet, English) (opens in a new tab)Open Society Foundations · 15 May 2017 · ngo · EN
OSFA total funding in Albania since 1992
No amount recorded
paymentSource label: Officially reportedStated definition: USD 131 million, per OSF 2017 fact sheet ('since 1992'). The ECLJ article gives the same USD 131 million for 1992-2020; the period differs, so this may be a reused figure. Do not treat as a verified 2020 total.
Date: 2017 · Payer: Open Society Foundations · Payee: Albania programmes
- Open Society Foundations in Albania: a brief history (fact sheet, English) (opens in a new tab)Open Society Foundations · 15 May 2017 · ngo · EN
- Influence of the Open Society Foundation: the Typical Case of Albania (opens in a new tab)ECLJ · unknown · ngo · EN
OSFA justice reform earmark (expert panel, outreach, website, conferences)
No amount recorded
paymentSource label: Officially reportedStated definition: USD 600,000, per OSF fact sheets (2017 English, 2021 Albanian). The 2017 sheet says 20 experts and the 2021 sheet says 60; spending breakdown not published.
Date: 2015 · Payer: Open Society Foundation for Albania · Payee: Justice reform expert panel, outreach, website, conferences
- Open Society Foundations in Albania: a brief history (fact sheet, English) (opens in a new tab)Open Society Foundations · 15 May 2017 · ngo · EN
- Open Society in Albania fact sheet (Albanian, 2021) (opens in a new tab)Open Society Foundations · Mar 2021 · ngo · SQ
OSFA total Albania budget, 2020
No amount recorded
paymentSource label: Officially reportedStated definition: USD 2 million for 2020 (Albania), per OSF 2021 fact sheet. Europe total for 2020: USD 92.9 million. The fact sheet gives no breakdown figures that could be read reliably.
Date: 2020 · Payer: Open Society Foundations · Payee: OSFA Albania programmes
- Open Society in Albania fact sheet (Albanian, 2021) (opens in a new tab)Open Society Foundations · Mar 2021 · ngo · SQ
USAID Justice for All project (implemented by EWMI)
No amount recorded
contractSource label: VerifiedStated definition: About USD 9 million (Top Channel, May 2016; Judicial Watch, 2018); Fox News gives USD 8.8 million for 2016. The period is 2016-2021. USAID denies that it gave grants to OSFA. This is not an OSFA financial record.
Date: 2016 · Payer: USAID · Payee: East-West Management Institute (implementer)
- USAID presents 9 million USD project for justice reform (opens in a new tab)Top Channel · May 2016 · journalism · EN
- USAID Justice for All (JFA), Albania (opens in a new tab)EWMI · 2016 · ngo · EN
- Obama State Dept used taxpayer dollars to fund George Soros group's political activities in Albania, watchdog group says (opens in a new tab)Fox News (reporting Judicial Watch) · Apr 2018 · journalism · EN
OSFA funding for BIRN Albania anti-corruption programme
No amount recorded
paymentSource label: Officially reportedStated definition: Amount not published in sources reviewed. BIRN was among the top four OSFA grant recipients in 2016 (OSF 2017 fact sheet).
Date: 2016 · Payer: Open Society Foundation for Albania · Payee: BIRN Albania
- The Open Society Foundation Albania (donor page) (opens in a new tab)BIRN · 5 Jun 2017 · journalism · EN
- Open Society Foundations in Albania: a brief history (fact sheet, English) (opens in a new tab)Open Society Foundations · 15 May 2017 · ngo · EN
OSF spending on schools and kindergartens in the 1990s
No amount recorded
paymentSource label: Officially reportedStated definition: More than USD 57 million, per OSF fact sheets, for 275 schools and kindergartens. OSF's claim; not independently checked.
Date: 1990 · Payer: Open Society Foundations · Payee: Albanian schools and kindergartens
- Open Society Foundations in Albania: a brief history (fact sheet, English) (opens in a new tab)Open Society Foundations · 15 May 2017 · ngo · EN
OSF total funding in Albania since 1992 (cumulative claim)
No amount recorded
paymentSource label: Officially reportedStated definition: USD 131 million, as printed in the OSF 2017 fact sheets (English and Albanian). Cumulative and self-reported by OSF, not an audited figure. Not a single payment.
Date: 1992-2017 · Payer: Open Society Foundations · Payee: Albania programmes (all)
- Open Society Foundations in Albania: a brief history (fact sheet, English) (opens in a new tab)Open Society Foundations · 15 May 2017 · ngo · EN
- Open Society Foundations in Albania (fact sheet, Albanian, 2017) (opens in a new tab)Open Society Foundations · 26 May 2017 · ngo · SQ
OSF spending on 275 schools and kindergartens, 1990s
No amount recorded
paymentSource label: Officially reportedStated definition: More than USD 57 million, as printed in the OSF 2017 and 2021 fact sheets. OSF's own claim; not independently checked here.
Date: 1990s · Payer: Open Society Foundations · Payee: Albanian schools and kindergartens
- Open Society Foundations in Albania: a brief history (fact sheet, English) (opens in a new tab)Open Society Foundations · 15 May 2017 · ngo · EN
- Open Society in Albania: 9 facts (fact sheet, English, March 2021) (opens in a new tab)Open Society Foundations · Mar 2021 · ngo · EN
OSF/OSFA project funding in Albania, 2016 (total of all grants)
No amount recorded
paymentSource label: Officially reportedStated definition: USD 2.2 million for 2016, as printed in the OSF 2017 fact sheets. Only the top four 2016 recipients are named (Res Publica, BIRN Albania, Children are the Future, Youth Roma and Egyptian Movement); no per-recipient amounts are printed.
Date: 2016 · Payer: Open Society Foundations · Payee: OSFA grantees (top four named)
- Open Society Foundations in Albania: a brief history (fact sheet, English) (opens in a new tab)Open Society Foundations · 15 May 2017 · ngo · EN
- Open Society Foundations in Albania (fact sheet, Albanian, 2017) (opens in a new tab)Open Society Foundations · 26 May 2017 · ngo · SQ
OSFA earmark for justice reform (expert panel, outreach, website, conferences), 2015
No amount recorded
paymentSource label: Officially reportedStated definition: USD 600,000, as printed in the OSF 2017 and 2021 fact sheets. Expert panel size printed as 20 (2017 English and 2021 English) and as 60 (2021 Albanian). No spending breakdown published in these sheets.
Date: 2015 · Payer: Open Society Foundation for Albania · Payee: Justice reform expert panel, outreach, website, conferences
- Open Society Foundations in Albania: a brief history (fact sheet, English) (opens in a new tab)Open Society Foundations · 15 May 2017 · ngo · EN
- Open Society in Albania: 9 facts (fact sheet, English, March 2021) (opens in a new tab)Open Society Foundations · Mar 2021 · ngo · EN
- Open Society in Albania: fact sheet (Albanian, March 2021) (opens in a new tab)Open Society Foundations · Mar 2021 · ngo · SQ
OSF budget for Albania, 2020 (budget, not a single payment)
No amount recorded
otherSource label: Officially reportedStated definition: USD 2 million total budget for Albania in 2020, as printed in the OSF March 2021 fact sheets (English and Albanian). Europe-wide 2020 budget USD 92.9 million on the same sheet. Budget, not a recorded payment.
Date: 2020 · Payer: Open Society Foundations · Payee: OSFA Albania programmes
- Open Society in Albania: 9 facts (fact sheet, English, March 2021) (opens in a new tab)Open Society Foundations · Mar 2021 · ngo · EN
- Open Society in Albania: fact sheet (Albanian, March 2021) (opens in a new tab)Open Society Foundations · Mar 2021 · ngo · SQ
OSFA funds BIRN Albania anti-corruption programme
No amount recorded
paymentSource label: Officially reportedStated definition: Amount not published. BIRN's donor page gives no amount; the OSF 2017 fact sheet lists BIRN Albania among the top four 2016 recipients without a figure.
Date: 2016-2017 · Payer: Open Society Foundation for Albania · Payee: BIRN Albania
- The Open Society Foundation Albania (BIRN donor page) (opens in a new tab)BIRN (Balkan Investigative Reporting Network) · 5 Jun 2017 · journalism · EN
- Open Society Foundations in Albania: a brief history (fact sheet, English) (opens in a new tab)Open Society Foundations · 15 May 2017 · ngo · EN
OSFA listed as a main donor to the Albanian Helsinki Committee
No amount recorded
paymentSource label: Officially reportedStated definition: Amount not published. The AHC page lists OSFA among main donors 'in the last three years', without amounts or years per donor.
Date: undated (last three years per page) · Payer: Open Society Foundation Albania (OSFA) · Payee: Albanian Helsinki Committee
- Albanian Helsinki Committee: Partners, Network and Donors (opens in a new tab)Albanian Helsinki Committee · undated · ngo · EN
OSF funds supported Res Publica's Gerdec compensation work
No amount recorded
paymentSource label: Officially reportedStated definition: Amount not published. The 2017 and 2021 fact sheets say OSF funds supported Res Publica's efforts to win compensation for families of the 2008 Gerdec ammunition factory explosions (26 killed). No amount given.
Date: 2017 (fact sheet date; work period not stated) · Payer: Open Society Foundations · Payee: Res Publica Center
- Open Society Foundations in Albania: a brief history (fact sheet, English) (opens in a new tab)Open Society Foundations · 15 May 2017 · ngo · EN
- Open Society in Albania: 9 facts (fact sheet, English, March 2021) (opens in a new tab)Open Society Foundations · Mar 2021 · ngo · EN
Officials and people linked
Former OSF-linked lawyer now ECtHR judge for Albania
Evidence: PACE election and ECtHR role are documented; the OSF link is from Wikipedia. Pavli's OSJI and OSFA roles are both within the Open Society network.
Described as Vice President of OSF (2021 coverage)
Evidence: Albanian Daily News 2021 description recorded in; not re-checked here.
OSI Civil Society Scholar Award (year not given)
Evidence: College of Europe profile lists the award among his honours; no primary OSI listing found. This is a documented funding or award relationship, not an employment or policy link.
OSI postgraduate fellowship (year not given)
Evidence: Profile says her research was funded by several scholarships including an Open Society Institute (OSI) postgraduate fellowship. Single profile; no primary record.
National Coordinator, OSF EU-integration monitoring project (years not given)
Evidence: exit.al (26 Sep 2020) describes this past role; project name and years not given.
Projects funded by OSF listed in his CV (2001-2003; search summary)
Evidence: Search summary of Venice Commission CV lists two OSF-funded projects. Needs checking against the full CV.
Listed as former OSF staff or associate in partisan sources
Evidence: IFIMES (Berisha-linked) and ECLJ list him; no primary OSF record found.
Vice President, OSF (as described 2019 and 2021)
Evidence: Presidency-announced 2019 meeting and 2021 Albanian Daily News describe him so.
Alex Soros heads the OSF network since 2023
Evidence: Telex (snippet-only) reports Alex Soros was voted OSF president in 2023; AP (snippet-only) says he chairs the board.
Investigations and cases
Sorted by reported money, then by linked people and their legal status. The money figure is the largest single reported figure, not a total.
From 2013
Allegations that Open Society influenced the 2016 Albanian justice reform and the government
Opposition politicians, some commentators and several conservative US outlets say that Open Society Foundation Albania (OSFA) and wider Soros-linked funding shaped the 2016 constitutional justice…
Status: Unresolved. Allegations are made by partisan actors and advocacy groups. No court, prosecutor or official body has found that OSF directed the reform.
From 2014
Open Society Foundation Albania and the 2014-2016 justice reform
The Open Society Foundation for Albania (OSFA) says it financed and supported Albania's justice reform, including a 2015 earmark of USD 600,000 for an expert panel, public outreach, a website and…
Status: Contested. No court finding of wrongdoing was found. The funding amounts from OSFA's own documents are published; claims about drafting and political influence…
From Feb 2016
Claims that Soros controls SPAK, the justice reform, Rama or the media
Since at least 2016 Berisha has said that Soros and Open Society shaped or corrupted Albanian institutions, including the justice reform, SPAK, the media, and Rama's government. He has called Rama a…
Status: Claims continue. No official finding.
Sources for this record
Every source the research cites for this record, grouped by its source label. 17 sources.
Source label: VerifiedVerified · 6 sources
- Publisher
- Open Society Foundations
- Date
- 21 Feb 2018
- Publisher
- Albanian Daily News
- Date
- 3 Sep 2021
- Publisher
- Shqiptarja
- Date
- 8 Jul 2019
- Publisher
- Open Society Foundations
- Date
- unknown
- Publisher
- Budapest Forum
- Date
- undated
- Publisher
- Telex
- Date
- 31 Aug 2023
Source label: Officially reportedOfficially reported · 3 sources
- Publisher
- Open Society Foundations
- Date
- 15 May 2017
- Publisher
- Open Society Foundations
- Date
- Mar 2021
- Publisher
- Top Channel
- Date
- 20 Dec 2019
Source label: Under investigationUnder investigation · 5 sources
- Publisher
- Council of Europe PACE
- Date
- 2018
- Publisher
- Anna Lindh Foundation
- Date
- undated
- Publisher
- College of Europe
- Date
- undated
- Publisher
- circlethemed.com
- Date
- undated
- Publisher
- exit.al
- Date
- 26 Sep 2020
Source label: UnverifiedUnverified · 3 sources
- Publisher
- EcoAlbania
- Date
- undated
- Publisher
- Venice Commission
- Date
- undated
- Publisher
- IFIMES
- Date
- 2021
Other connections
OSF funds OSFA and its Albania programmes
Evidence: OSF fact sheets 2017 and 2021 describe OSFA's budget and programme funding (USD 2M for Albania in 2020).
- Business relationship←Co-PLAN Institute for Habitat Development (Albania)Source label: Under investigation
OSF named in an undated directory profile as a funder of Co-PLAN (no project named)
Evidence: Anna Lindh Foundation directory profile for Co-PLAN lists Open Society Foundation among funders; Co-PLAN's own About page (opened) lists other funders and does not name OSF. No OSF grant to Co-PLAN is documented.
- Hypothesis→PPNEA (Protecting Birds and Nature in Albania), BirdLife partner in AlbaniaSource label: Unverified
HYPOTHESIS (unproven): OSF or OSFA funding reaches PPNEA
Evidence: No OSF or OSFA grant to PPNEA was found in any source read. Tested in sor-env-hyp-osf-funds-env-ngos.
HYPOTHESIS (unproven): OSF or OSFA funding reaches EcoAlbania
Evidence: No OSF or OSFA grant to EcoAlbania was found. EcoAlbania's website shows an OSFA tag without funding detail (search summary). Tested in sor-env-hyp-osf-funds-env-ngos.