Albanian Corruption Scandal and Media Connection
This month, a report from the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) discussed corruption in Albania linked to Jared Kushner’s resort venture. However, the article did not disclose that one of its authors works for a newsroom funded by George Soros’s Open Society Foundations.
The report from August 8, titled “Suspected gangster causing headache for Kushner’s Albania deal,” was co-authored by WSJ reporters Elliott Brown and Vladimir Karaj. It outlined serious allegations made by prosecutors against Artur Shehu, the landowner who sold property to Kushner’s development group. Shehu is now wanted by Albanian authorities in connection with a cocaine trafficking and money laundering investigation.
Vladimir Karaj serves as the editor for the Albanian branch of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN), which manages Reporter.al. BIRN’s donor page indicates that the Open Society Foundations Albania financially supports the network’s anti-corruption initiatives through investigative journalism and partnerships with media and civil organizations. Reporter.al also receives funding from the same Soros Foundation.
Prosecutors involved in the case, known as SPAK, are reportedly tracing their findings back to this same network of donors. SPAK was established under Albania’s judicial reform in 2016, a project that received about $270 million in USAID support from organizations connected to Soros over the past 15 years.
Andy Dobrusi, the executive director of OSF Albania, openly acknowledged his organization’s contribution to the reform movement.
“OSF Albania is the main financier of the entire reform process,” Dobrusi stated.
In 2017, six Republican senators, including Mike Lee and Ted Cruz, pressured the State Department to look into the connections between USAID and the Soros Foundation in Albania. Judicial Watch later secured embassy records via a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, revealing that the U.S. mission in Tirana had provided insights into its program funding review to the Soros organization.
The Open Society Foundations countered claims linking its work to U.S. government funding, asserting that such claims are “patently false.” The organization emphasized that it sets its own priorities and utilizes its own financial resources.
Kushner’s $1.4 billion project on Southern Island is facing ongoing protests in Tirana. Prime Minister Edi Rama, reportedly linked to Soros and who refers to Alex Soros as “Brother of Tirana,” has committed to pushing forward with the development.
Notably, the WSJ’s report did not mention Karaj’s affiliation with BIRN or any details regarding its funding.
