How the Albania Protests Connect to a Broader Fight Against Corruption (Part 1)

In late April this year, according to the outlet Reporter.al, part of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN), residents and environmental activists noticed construction on a beach near the coastal Albanian village of Zvërnec, close to a protected lagoon. This work was the start of a luxury resort project implemented by the firm Zvërnec South Adriatic Development. Local protests led to clashes with police and private security, and soon those protests spread across the country, sparking a significant political crisis. In this first of a two-part series, I examine the roots and implications of the movement, dubbed the Flamingo Revolution.

One reason the protests intensified and attracted global media attention is that the Zvërnec project has been linked to Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, as well as to Qatari investors and a Qatari construction firm. Zvërnec South Adriatic Development itself is reportedly owned by a Dutch offshore firm, with anonymous ultimate beneficial owners. Meanwhile, BIRN claims to have evidence of a complex network of companies and individuals involved in the project, some with allegedly questionable reputations. A late May podcast appearance by Ivanka Trump further exacerbated the situation, as she discussed plans for a second project for a resort on the nearby island of Sazan, formerly a sensitive military site.

The protests are recent, but the story is not. Trump and Kushner reportedly first visited Albania in 2021 and again in 2023. In February 2024, Parliament amended the law on environmentally protected areas to allow for more development. In December 2024, the Strategic Investment Committee, headed by Prime Minister Edi Rama, accepted a 1.4 billion Euro proposal for the Sazan project from Atlantic Incubation Partners LLC, also linked to Kushner. Atlantic Incubation Partners was given Strategic Investment status, which fast-tracks permitting. Reporter.al claims to have seen documents to transfer the island from the Ministry of Defence to the Real Estate Fund for the Support of Strategic Investments, under the Ministry of Economy, allowing for a long-term lease of a parcel of land. With respect to Zvërnec, though legal disputes around the land date back over a decade, construction permits were apparently awarded in early 2025. 

In addition to the protests, there has been some internal institutional pushback. In May, Member of Parliament Ina Zhupa introduced a bill that would restore standards for protected areas. In early June, Albania's Special Structure Against Corruption and Organised Crime (SPAK) opened an investigation into why the environmental law was amended, how the Zvërnec land was acquired, and the identity of the investor network. SPAK originally froze the bank accounts of the Qatari investors’ company, though that decision was reversed. A separate asset freeze implemented was reportedly linked to funds tied to the Zvërnec project. Further, two private security companies involved when the initial protests turned violent have lost their licenses.

Rama has vowed the projects would move forward and alleged a foreign hand behind the movement, though he has indicated willingness to work with the EU on a new Strategic Investments Law. In this fast-moving situation as of this writing, protestors have demanded the PM’s resignation, and turned their attention to another, unrelated luxury development. Neither do they back Albania’s opposition Democratic Party, decrying attempts by party leader Sali Berisha to capitalize on the movement. Berisha too has a complex past, having been banned from the US in 2021 over corruption allegations (a decision just reversed amid the protests).

In many ways, this movement mirrors other Gen Z-driven protests, centered on corruption, economic frustration and dissatisfaction with elites. In fact, the Albanian Daily News compared the Flamingo Revolution with a 2025 situation in Serbia, where another, coincidentally, Kushner-backed project stalled amid protests and corruption allegations. In sum, as the Tirana Times wrote, protestors are calling for an end to a “political class that has dominated Albania since the early 1990s… a system many Albanians view as kleptocratic, personalized and incapable of renewal.” 

Marc Schleifer

Governance, Democracy and Economic Development Expert