{"id":327805,"date":"2026-07-02T22:14:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T22:14:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/327805\/"},"modified":"2026-07-02T22:14:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T22:14:18","slug":"miami-developer-linked-to-kushner-albania-resort-debacle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/327805\/","title":{"rendered":"Miami Developer Linked to Kushner Albania Resort Debacle"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A Miami Beach developer is facing international scrutiny as organized crime officials investigate disputed land deals tied to the assemblage for Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump\u2019s planned $1.4 billion luxury <a href=\"https:\/\/therealdeal.com\/international\/2026\/06\/01\/albania-pm-backs-kushners-5b-resort-despite-protests\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">resort<\/a> in Albania.<\/p>\n<p>Artur Shehu, who is Albanian, owns multimillion-dollar waterfront homes on Miami Beach\u2019s coveted Flamingo Drive and in North Bay Village and operates a Florida-based real estate business. Investigators believe Shehu directed one of Albania\u2019s largest private land assemblages while living in South Florida, the Miami New Times <a href=\"https:\/\/www.miaminewtimes.com\/news\/miami-beach-developer-at-center-of-kushner-albania-controversy-40563166\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project said Shehu purchased property from villagers who argued the land had long belonged to their family and was improperly transferred to private owners before being sold for development, the outlet said. Acquisitions were often made through complex legal agreements, which critics claim took advantage of Albania\u2019s property system muddied by the country\u2019s communist past, when private land ownership was abolished.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump are betting on that land for their coastal resort, which is one of the Trump family\u2019s largest <a href=\"https:\/\/therealdeal.com\/international\/2026\/04\/20\/trumps-eyeing-georgia-the-country-for-next-global-endeavor\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">international business<\/a> ventures since the husband and wife left the White House after President Trump\u2019s first term, the outlet said.<\/p>\n<p>Kushner and Ivanka Trump have not been accused of any wrongdoing, but the project and the associated assemblage has sparked <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/albania-kushner-trump-development-protest-tourism-clashes-063288405ee82156e32e6bde500d0569\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">protests across Albania<\/a>, with demonstrators accusing the government of developer favoritism and raising concerns about the resort\u2019s environmental impact.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Shehu has denied any illegal activity, saying his land acquisitions complied with Albanian law.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not the first time the developer has been accused of being involved in organized crime. Italian authorities previously investigated him for alleged drug trafficking and connections to the Italian mafia but never charged him due to insufficient evidence.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Shehu has also been accused of having ties to organized crime in his home country, which he left in 1999 after a deadly gunfight in his bar in Vlora, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.occrp.org\/en\/investigation\/from-a-miami-mansion-an-alleged-mobster-amasses-albanian-property\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">according<\/a> to the OCCRP. Court records show the U.S. granted him asylum in 2001.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2014Grace McClung<\/p>\n<p>\tRead more<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"BlogrollPost\" href=\"https:\/\/therealdeal.com\/international\/2026\/06\/01\/albania-pm-backs-kushners-5b-resort-despite-protests\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"200\" height=\"133\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/INT_Kushner-and-Albania-200x133.jpg\" class=\"FeaturedImage_image wp-post-image\" alt=\"Albania Prime Minister Edi Rama and Jared Kushner with Sazan Island in Albania\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDevelopment\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tInternational\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>Albanian PM backs Kushner\u2019s $5B resort despite environmental protests<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"BlogrollPost\" href=\"https:\/\/therealdeal.com\/new-york\/2026\/05\/05\/ex-mob-associate-sues-lender-alleges-modern-day-mafia\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"200\" height=\"133\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Ex-Mob-Associate-Sues-Lender-Alleges-Modern-Day-Mafia-200x133.jpg\" class=\"FeaturedImage_image wp-post-image\" alt=\"Bronx developer James McManus, Fairbridge Asset Management founder John Lettera and 1932 McGraw Avenue in Parkchester\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>Ex-mob associate sues lender, claims \u201cmodern-day mafia\u201d tactics<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"BlogrollPost\" href=\"https:\/\/therealdeal.com\/international\/2026\/04\/20\/trumps-eyeing-georgia-the-country-for-next-global-endeavor\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"200\" height=\"133\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/INT_Trump-Sapir-Georgia-200x133.jpg\" class=\"FeaturedImage_image wp-post-image\" alt=\"Eric Trump and Alex Sapir\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDevelopment\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tInternational\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>Trumps eyeing Georgia (the country) for next global endeavor<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Miami Beach developer is facing international scrutiny as organized crime officials investigate disputed land deals tied to&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":327806,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[135387,123,125,124],"class_list":["post-327805","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-kushner-albania-resort-controversy","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/327805","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=327805"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/327805\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/327806"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=327805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=327805"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=327805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}