In Albania, prosecutors said they had requested the arrest of 20 people on suspicion of drug trafficking and money laundering, some of whom may have ties to relatives of US President Donald Trump. RTL Today reported this on June 14 with reference to AFP.
We are talking about connections with the construction of a luxury tourist resort on the coast near the environmental protection zones of Zvernets and the island of Sazani, against which mass protests have been ongoing in Albania for several weeks. People are demanding the project be stopped and are calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama.
Amid the protests, Albania's specialized prosecutor's office for combating corruption and organized crime said it had called for the arrest of 20 people suspected of drug trafficking and money laundering. Some of the people involved in the investigation are identified in the documents only by their initials – A.Sh., FS and BS, which is standard practice until the full disclosure of their identity or a court decision. According to local media, A.Sh. – it could probably be businessman Arthur Shehu, who is associated with the sale of land for a future project.
The investigation concerns an international money laundering scheme and real estate investments worth more than €128 million, including coastal land. The company mentioned in the case is associated with a project that is associated in the media with the Trump family – in particular, his daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner, who have previously publicly described the idea of developing a tourism complex in the region.
The prosecutor's office has not officially confirmed a direct connection between the criminal case and the resort project, but the investigation includes business structures that purchased land in the future development zone.
