Albanians protest Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner's luxury island resort project

When Ivanka Trump casually announced on a podcast that she and Jared Kushner were developing a private island off Albania's southern coast, she likely did not anticipate Albanians protesting over corruption claims and fears of irreversible damage to an ecologically sensitive zone. The 44-year-old revealed that the couple is building a luxury eco-resort at Sazan Island with the help of "some of the greatest living architects of our time."

The project has run into trouble after the Special Prosecution Office Against Corruption and Organized Crime (SPAK) announced an investigation into decisions that changed the legal status of land, previously classified as protected, on which the resort will be built, Newsweek reported. The agency is looking into whether these changes were specifically made to pave the way for the project, which Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama approved in December 2025.

The investigators are looking into areas such as Sazan Island and coastal wetlands near Zvërnec, home to species like flamingos, Mediterranean monk seals, and sea turtles, the report explained. The probe comes at a time when thousands are protesting in the streets of Tirana, Albania's capital, chanting "Albania belongs to Albanians" while holding placards that read: "Hands off Vjosa-Narta," according to Euronews.

The timing could not be worse for Albania when it is seeking to join the EU and trying to shake a long-standing reputation for corruption. This is not the first time the Trumps have faced accusations of using the levers of government to secure foreign deals. Vietnam fast-tracked a $1.5 billion Trump Organization golf project, bypassing required legal steps, while simultaneously negotiating with the administration over threatened tariffs.

What do we know about the project?

Kushner's investment firm, Affinity Partners, announced the project in August 2024 with an estimated cost of $4.7 billion, Politico reported. It is expected to include 10,000 hotel rooms and villas on around 2.5 square kilometres. The President's daughter revealed that she discovered the 1,400-hectare island while swimming off a friend’s boat. "We developed the opportunity to help realize its potential and transform it, but with a lot of restraint and care because the land is so beautiful," she said.

The Albanian government has defended the project, explaining it is in line with its plan to increase luxury tourism investments and attract foreign capital to grow the country's tourism sector. The Albanian Prime Minister denied that the project encroaches on a protected marine reserve and added that the final proposal is yet to be submitted, with the environmental study incomplete.