Bombshell Letter Revealed in Jared and Ivanka’s Newest Controversy

A newly revealed letter is adding fresh fuel to the growing controversy surrounding Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump’s planned $1.4 billion luxury resort in Albania — and raising questions about claims that Kushner’s development team knew nothing about a bitter fight over the land.

Villagers from the coastal community of Zvërnec reportedly warned Kushner’s firm nearly two years ago that part of the property targeted for development was the subject of decades-long legal disputes and had allegedly been stolen.

According to The Wall Street Journal, residents sent a letter directly to Kushner’s company pleading with the president’s son-in-law not to move forward with the massive development.

The villagers said the disputed property was “owned by the village and its residents” and alleged that it had been improperly taken by Artur Shehu, a businessman accused of forging Ottoman-era property records.

Despite the warning, Kushner’s development group later completed a deal with Shehu.

Not long afterward, Albanian prosecutors accused Shehu of money laundering, forging historical property documents and participating in an international drug trafficking organization, according to the Journal.

The newly disclosed letter could prove particularly uncomfortable for Kushner’s development venture, Sazan Real Estate, because the company has maintained that it was unaware of any dispute surrounding the property.

“We did not see or hear of any dispute at all,” Sazan Real Estate chairman Asher Abehsera told the Journal.

That assertion is now facing additional scrutiny given the villagers’ reported letter and the fact that disputes involving the land had also received coverage in Albanian media.

In a statement to The Daily Beast, Abehsera defended the resort and said developers have spent years working toward a project they believe will benefit Albania.

“For four years, we have worked toward creating a world-class destination on the Albanian coast—one rooted in thoughtful design, environmental stewardship, and long-term economic opportunity,” he said.

Abehsera added that the project would “celebrate Albania’s natural beauty, create jobs, and build something future generations can be proud of.”

“Its future will ultimately be determined by Albania and the Albanian people,” he said.

A spokesperson for Sazan also said the project’s partners “believe the land acquisitions were conducted lawfully and in accordance with applicable procedures.”

But on the ground in Albania, the development has become anything but a routine real estate project.

Protests erupted after bulldozers and barbed-wire fencing appeared along beaches in late May, setting off outrage among residents who say their land and coastline are being taken from them.

Tensions escalated further after a widely circulated video appeared to show private security guards working for the Kushner-backed project punching a villager in the face and dragging him across the beach.

The footage helped turn the luxury resort into a major political flashpoint.

“The only thing that I want now is that they give me back my land,” Zvërnec village leader Kostaq Konomi told the Journal.

A spokesperson for Kushner did not respond to The Daily Beast’s request for comment.

The fight is not limited to property ownership.

Environmental organizations have also mounted strong opposition to the project, warning that large-scale construction could permanently damage one of Albania’s most environmentally sensitive coastal areas.

In December 2024, Albania’s Parliament fast-tracked the project after changing legislation to permit construction in environmentally sensitive areas.

There is no evidence that Kushner personally influenced those legislative changes.

Still, the timing and political circumstances have fueled criticism from opponents of Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama.

Opposition leader Sali Berisha has alleged that Rama may have been “seeking to buy political influence” from President Donald Trump by approving a project associated with Trump’s daughter and son-in-law.

That claim has not been proven.

But critics say the broader process has lacked transparency.

“From start to finish there has been a total lack of transparency,” Aleksandër Trajçe, executive director of the Protection and Preservation of the Natural Environment in Albania, told The Guardian in June.

The controversy has now reached far beyond Albanian politics.

Pop superstar Dua Lipa, who holds Albanian citizenship, has publicly praised the protesters challenging the development.

“I find it so inspiring to see how much people really care,” Lipa told Albanian academic and author Lea Ypi during an appearance on the Service95 Book Club podcast.

She said she was particularly troubled by the government’s ability to weaken environmental protections without broader public involvement.

“What I actually find concerning is the principle that the government could just change the law to remove the environmental protection without any kind of public consultation,” Lipa said.

Backlash intensified further after Ivanka Trump publicly discussed the couple’s plans for the island of Sazan.

During an appearance on David Serna’s podcast, Ivanka said she hoped to “transform” the island while exercising “restraint.”

She also described how she and Kushner first became fascinated with the location.

“We were on a friend’s boat, and we stopped for a swim. Effectively, that’s how we found it,” Ivanka said.

“We swam to the islands. We went on a hike, barefoot all the way, up to the top. And we were just captivated.”

But what began for Ivanka and Kushner as an idyllic discovery along the Albanian coast has grown into a messy international controversy involving disputed property, environmental protections, political accusations and angry residents who say they warned the developers long before construction began.

Now, the newly surfaced villagers’ letter threatens to become one of the most damaging pieces of the saga yet — because it directly challenges the idea that Kushner’s team had no reason to know a serious land battle was already underway.