His firm pulled out of a planned luxury hotel in Serbia after anti-government protests, while a resort in Albania is being overshadowed by local scandals.
Jared Kushner's pompous projects in the Balkans are clashing with the reality of doing business in the region.
Affinity Partners, the private equity fund owned by Donald Trump’s son-in-law, this week scrapped plans for a luxury hotel in Serbia due to political tensions surrounding the project. In Albania, a proposal to transform an island in the Adriatic Sea is moving forward, even as the country is mired in a series of corruption scandals that threaten to undermine the government.
Trump Tower in Belgrade has been a major investment for Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, whose political party pushed through special legislation to remove any obstacles, even though it gave new impetus to protests against him that have been ongoing for more than a year.
Meanwhile, the largest and only foreign direct investment from the West during the 12 years of Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama's government is part of his determination to prove that the country is open to large foreign capital.
The government in Tirana says approving the works for the $1.4 billion luxury project is vital to transforming an isolated and underdeveloped area into a tourist destination that rivals neighboring Greece. However, the legacy of more than four decades as Europe’s most isolated dictatorship is hard to shake off, even in a country that is now among the most pro-American in the world.
The special prosecutor's office has opened investigations into major infrastructure projects in Vlora, the municipality where the development is planned. They relate to a new international airport and a highway tunnel.
“This project is not just ‘another resort,’” said Julian Adili, executive director of the Albanian Real Estate and Development Corporation. “It is one of the most ambitious investments in recent years in Albania, with the potential to change the international perception of the country.”
Affinity said in a statement that projects like the one in Belgrade “should unite, not divide.” The decision also came after a government official who helped pave the way for the development was indicted.
Vučić blamed activists for the plans’ failure. “Some nations are definitely more willing to understand the decisions of their leadership than those in Serbia,” he said Tuesday. Albania will now get the attention and publicity because “the entire Trump family will praise the project,” he said. “We Serbs are masters of missed opportunities.”
Kushner plans to build a luxury resort along with a marina on the island of Sazan, a former Albanian military base. His initial interest was sparked by a visit to the country in 2021.
An Affinity spokesperson said that abandoning plans in Serbia "has no impact" on Albania.
This year brought an unprecedented number of investigations into high-level projects and officials in Tirana, including some of Rama's closest associates.
Like much of the region, Albania has struggled to break free from corruption. In Transparency International's latest annual corruption index, it ranks 80th. This was an improvement on the previous year and ranks higher than Serbia, Hungary and Ukraine, but still lower than Bulgaria, which was recently rocked by protests.
Last month, the Special Prosecution Office, known as SPAK, indicted Belinda Balluku, Minister of Infrastructure and Energy and Rama’s deputy prime minister. The charges were for “violating the equality of participants in public tenders or auctions,” and suspected collusion with other officials.
She is the highest-ranking official from Rama's inner circle to face charges. Several other agency heads and members of procurement commissions are also indicted for the same offense and are under house arrest.
Balluku was suspended from her cabinet duties and banned from leaving the country. She denies any wrongdoing, saying the allegations are “slander, insinuations, half-truths and lies.” She promised full cooperation with authorities.
This week, SPAK formally submitted a request to the Albanian Parliament to lift Balluk's immunity from prosecution. She is also under investigation for her involvement in seven other public procurement procedures related to major infrastructure projects in Tirana, SPAK said.
Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj, another close ally of Rama, was arrested earlier this year on charges of corruption, money laundering, and concealment of assets.
While the prime minister welcomed the investigations, he warned against “conviction in the court of politics or the media.” He criticized Balluk’s suspension as a “harsh interference” in executive power that hinders the functioning of the government.
“The noble goal of fighting corruption does not justify the use of any wrong means,” Rama said. His office did not respond to requests for an interview or comment for this story.
SPAK is also investigating Vlora International Airport, one of Albania's major infrastructure projects, with a focus on the concession contract.
The airport was supposed to be operational this summer to serve record numbers of tourists. On a visit in March, Rama called the airport “a reflection of our ambition.” Instead, the final phase of construction has been suspended.
The airport will also serve Kushner's luxury island resort in the future. Albanian officials say that project will not be hindered by any of the investigations.
“Albania is becoming more known in the world thanks to this investment,” said Agron Shehaj, an entrepreneur who founded the opposition Opportunity Party last year. “The only thing we need is transparency about this. This is in everyone’s interest.”
Indeed, transparency has been a problem in Albania. Since the fall of dictator Enver Hoxha's regime in the early 1990s, the country has undergone an unprecedented real estate boom that stretched from the capital to the coastline, changing its image as isolated and underdeveloped.
However, this construction fever, along with drug trafficking, has also fueled corruption. Rama managed to get the country off the Financial Action Task Force's grey list in 2023 after tightening anti-money laundering rules and improving law enforcement.
Rama's main rival, Sali Berisha, who has led the Democratic Party since 1990, has been sanctioned by the US and the UK for involvement in corruption. He is also under investigation domestically. Berisha denies any wrongdoing.
Even Sazani has had its problems. A small number of soldiers still live on the island, spending their time watching tourists tour abandoned military buildings. Police earlier this year discovered more than 3,000 liters of fuel suspected of being used for drug trafficking, local media reported. No charges have yet been filed.
Now is Albania's chance to leave this behind and move forward, and that starts with the Kushner project, Adili said.
If successful, “it will pave the way for other international investments in Albania in tourism, infrastructure and hospitality,” he said. “It will improve the country’s reputation as an investment destination.” / Bloomberg
