Protests in Albania continued on Tuesday following last week’s news that Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump were planning on developing the country’s largest island and surrounding area into what’s being billed as a luxury 250-hectare tourism destination.
Sazan Island and parts of the nearby Narta-Zvernec wetland and lagoon ecosystem are a strategically important location between the Strait of Otranto and the mouth of the Bay of Vlorë, marking the border between the Adriatic and Ionian seas that then flows into the Mediterranean.
The shady deal has stirred up anger in Albania over the country’s economic model, corruption, environmental destruction, and status as an EU doormat. On June 1, Albania’s Special Structure Against Corruption and Organized Crime confirmed it is conducting an investigation into the project, which is also backed by Qatari billionaire brothers, a businessman accused of ties to the Italian mafia, a corrupt judge, and one of Albania’s most powerful oligarchs.
What else can we piece together about Ivanka and Jared’s “resort”?
Another Epstein Island? Another Epstein?
Let’s first place the resort’s location and characters in context. Prime Minister Rama remains committed and says the development would align with Albania’s ambition to become a major luxury global tourism destination. And tourism has indeed grown exponentially in the country in recent years. At the same time, Albania remains a global hub of human trafficking where women and minors are exploited for sex, and with the tourism boom, Albania has transformed from a trafficking gateway into Europe to more of a trafficking destination country.
In Albania, it is largely controlled by powerful organized crime networks there that sprang up after the collapse of Yugoslavia and during the ensuing Balkan Wars and NATO bombings. (Coincidentally, Kushner and his partners also have plans to transform the former Serbia ministry of defense building in Belgrade into a luxury hotel. It has been empty for decades after being bombed by NATO in 1999.)
While Albania’s Strategic Investment Committee — led by Prime Minister Edi Rama — granted Kushner the right to move ahead with accelerated Sazan negotiations back in January of 2025, the Albanian mafia also reportedly played a key role:
Journalists are increasingly speaking out about the ‘Aruba meeting’. They report that the land chosen for Kushner & Ivanka Trump’s luxury resort was taken from local owners by Albanian organized crime groups operating in the US, alleging PM Rama & foreign authorities know. 🇦🇱🇺🇸🦩 https://t.co/kW2GqZtXW8 pic.twitter.com/9IoZXiIre0
— Tirana Report (@Tirana_Report) June 7, 2026
So there’s that.
Jared and Ivanka also happened to “find” Sazan when they were on Nat Rothschild’s luxury yacht. Kushner said he was encouraged to invest in Albania by Richard Grenell, former director of national intelligence and currently the Special Presidential Envoy for Special Missions (a position established at the beginning of Trump 2.0).
Kushner met Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama aboard Nat Rothschild’s yacht in a meeting arranged by Nat, and that, according to Jared, got the ball rolling on the $4-billion dollar luxury bunker project.
As critical as Nat appears to this tale, he’s also well-represented in another: the Epstein files. From The Guardian:
Jeffrey Epstein described Peter Mandelson as “devious” after lobbying a bank to underwrite a mining project launched by their mutual friend Nat Rothschild.
And the Rothschild dynasty lurks throughout the Epstein-Maxwell story:
🚨Whitney Webb:
“Epstein was middle management working on behalf of a tight-knit network of oligarchs.”
“Robert Maxwell literally came to the US on the behalf of Rothschilds’ banking interests”
“The oligarchs are unaccountable. Nothing’s going to happen to Leslie Wexner…… pic.twitter.com/czt6FKR8Ys
— Sense Receptor (@SenseReceptor) March 13, 2026
It’s impossible to say that Kushner island would become an Epstein replacement, but the coincidences of characters and opportune location, along with Jared’s own background help lead to speculation that he might be playing a role that opened up with the “suicide” of Epstein:
Rothschild Helped Kushner Find The Island — Epstein Island 2.0 Began Taking Shape
Jared Kushner: “We Were on a Friend’s Boat — Nat Rothschild’s — on Vacation When I Found Sazan Island in Albania.”
🧵Thread on who Nat Rothschild is & Jared Kushner’s history with them & Epstein https://t.co/RfXulzbz7S pic.twitter.com/4TjM8X8Iw4
— Phantom Pain (@phantompain1984) June 2, 2026
Sazan Island is home to at least 3,600 Soviet-style nuclear bunkers built during the Cold War, which fits with the trend of billionaires destroying the planet under the illusion they’ll continue living in comfort in their underground lairs. Delusion, tastefully done, of course:
There are also at least ten miles of underground tunnels, which could prove useful.
Israel on the Adriatic
Kushner has been clear about his goal to help expand Israel’s sphere of influence.
Jared Kushner says he will bring wealth, power, and status only to countries that join the Abraham Accords.
Kushner says he will create “economic packages” to encourage countries that have not joined the Abraham Accords to join.
Kushner says he has his sights set on Morocco and… pic.twitter.com/EsZw2i9PuO
— Shadow of Ezra (@ShadowofEzra) June 3, 2026
Yet he’s following rather than leading. Albania has for years now been closely aligned with the US and Israel and has only deepened its ties during the US-Israel genocide in Gaza. From Untold Mag:
Over the past two years, Albania and Israel have signed numerous agreements, covering sectors such as agriculture, education, energy, culture, tourism, defense, and drone technology. Trade between the two countries has also grown quickly. According to Albania’s Institute of Statistics, Israeli exports to Albania increased by over 150% between May 2023 and May 2024.
Israeli investment in Albania is expanding, especially in finance. In early 2025, reports indicated that investors associated with Israel’s One Zero Digital Bank were considering entering the Albanian banking market. Later that year, JET Bank, the country’s first fully digital bank, was established and is owned by British-Israeli businessman Idan Avishai. Other figures of Israeli origin in its leadership include Oliver Hemmer and Rami Solomon.
Meanwhile, Albania has come under scrutiny from human rights researchers. Reports tracking global fuel shipments to Israel during the war in Gaza list Albania as one of 11 countries supplying fuel.
…There has also been an increase in military cooperation between Albania and Israel. In late 2025, Albania signed a multimillion-euro arms deal with Israeli defense companies, including Elbit Systems. The agreement includes artillery systems, mortars, and tactical drones, as well as plans to develop domestic production in partnership with KAYO, Albania’s state-owned company.
Since June 2023, the two countries have officially cooperated in cybersecurity and training…
Also in May 2026, Elbit registered its Albanian branch with the National Business Center, which will carry out the same activity as in Israel. Earlier in 2025, Elbit and KAYO agreed to reopen the Albanian aviation academy to train military and civilian pilots.
Political ties have deepened as well. In November 2025, Albania established an “Israel Allies Caucus” in its parliament as part of an international network linked to the Israel Allies Foundation. The group is co-chaired by representatives from both major parties, reflecting broad political support for closer relations with Israel.
All the close cooperation culminated in Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s January visit to Jerusalem to meet with Netanyahu who faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity in Gaza.
But Israel isn’t the only Middle East state with interest in Albania.
Kushner’s Qatari Billionaires (Or Is It Qatari Billionaires’ Kushner?)
Another of the key players in the Albanian bunker resort are the Khayyat brothers. Moutaz, Ramez, and Mohamad al-Khayyat are Syrian born but Qatari citizen billionaires. Their Power International Holding has a reported $12 billion in Syrian reconstruction contracts that were frozen under US sanctions, but they will now be using some of that money to help fund Kushner island. From AJ Jaff:
Three Syrian-born Qatari billionaires with a $12 billion Syrian reconstruction portfolio sat behind a US sanctions wall called the Caesar Act for six years waiting patiently for the right moment. This Act served as a wall that blocked access to their financing and sanctioned nearly ALL their wealth. They lobbied and partnered with president Trump’s son-in-law (Jared Kushner) on a $4 billion Albanian resort. Kushner through convinced his father-in-law POTUS Donald Trump to sign the law that brought the wall down by removing all the sanctions on Syria. Six months later, the resort broke ground. The brothers’ Syrian reconstruction portfolio became financeable. The Trump family took a position. The Albanian government rolled out the carpet.
So Kushner’s Gulf-backed Affinity Partners is leading the deal with an apparent assist from US spooks:
Das ist kein Luxusresort. Sazan – die albanische Insel an der Straße von Otranto – ist das maritime Tor zwischen Adria und Mittelmeer.
3.600 atomsichere Bunker. 15 Kilometer Tunnel. Ehemalige sowjetische U-Boot-Anlegestellen.
Die Insel kontrolliert wer die Adria kontrolliert.…
— Anna (@AnnaDeMilanese) June 7, 2026
EU Sacrifice Zone
Kushner island is just one of many projects the Albanian government has promoted as part of a strategy to attract foreign capital and expand the country’s luxury tourism sector.
🚨 KARABURUN OFFICIALLY SOLD
Albania’s government has bestowed
‘strategic investor’ status to an Italian hotelier who wants to build a tourist resort in a nature reserve in southern Albania, in Kepi i Shëngjergjit, next to Haxhi Aliu’s cave
The peninsula is home to the heavily… pic.twitter.com/qmra1AQc3x
— Arjan 🌲 (@SigurimiShtet) September 24, 2025
Coastal resorts are one of the more visible examples of the numerous ways the country and its resources are being strip mined, but it’s far from the only one.
Like much the rest of the Balkan nations, Albania is still on the wait list for EU membership. In the meantime it is treated as a “jungle” sacrifice zone for the EU “garden,” including:
Cheap labor. From Intellinews:
Elsewhere in the region, Albania’s clothing and textile industry is largely geared to importing materials that are then turned into partially or fully finished garments or shoes and re-exported, a process dubbed ‘facon’. The industry developed thanks to Albania’s low costs – this is a labour-intensive sector and Albania has the lowest minimum wage in Europe – and its proximity to Italy, one of the world’s leading fashion countries.
According to industry insiders, typically, clothes and shoes are exported almost complete to Italy, where Italian workers add the final touches and packaging, allowing the products to go out to the shops with the prestigious ‘Made in Italy’ label.
Power generation. The EU is working on building 3.5 billion euros worth of gas-fired power plants, pipelines, and liquefied natural gas terminals in the Western Balkans that will largely transfer power into the garden.
Resources. In the works is a $1 billion project to build an undersea water pipeline that would annually send 150 million cubic meters of water to the parched southeastern heel of the Italian boot. The plan could be incredibly shortsighted on Albania’s part. The country has historically been blessed with an abundance of freshwater and relies on hydropower to meet much of its energy needs. But it was also forced to ration electricity in recent years because of drought and the effect on its hydropower stations, and the problem is only expected to worsen with ongoing climate change.
Refugee dumping ground. Italy is now rerouting undesirable asylum seekers from Italy to cages in Albania in a move that EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called “out-of-the-box thinking.” That’s one way of putting it. Despite its decade-plus candidacy, Albania is still not an EU member state, and the automatic detention migrants are likely to face there is in breach of Italian and EU law. Yet Von der Leyen’s EU sees Italy’s Albania plan as a template for the bloc and is now looking to do the same across the Balkans.
It would appear the Albanian people have had enough.
