The German newspaper “Junge Welt” has dedicated an article to the Albanian businessman Artur Shehu, whose name has been linked to the sale of land on the island of Sazan for Jared Kushner’s luxury project. The article raises questions about the fact that Shehu, against whom there is an arrest warrant for charges related to cocaine trafficking, money laundering and document forgery, is located in Miami and so far no action by the American authorities to detain or extradite him has been made public.
According to the article, the US Department of Justice has not confirmed whether it has received a request from Tirana for Shehu's detention or extradition. The newspaper notes that in April, Shehu sold coastal properties to Albania Land Development, the company behind Kushner's project, which sparked civil protests that have been ongoing for 73 days. The proceeds, 110 million euros according to documents, were frozen in the notary's account before the money reached Shehu.
On the other hand, his lawyer Kujtim Cakrani claims that the family has owned the land since Ottoman times and that the sale was carried out legally, while Shehu himself called his ownership "indisputable" in a television program. The article compares his case with that of Ilir Shtufi, another person investigated in the same file.
On July 30, the Thessaloniki Court of Appeals approved the extradition of Ilir Shtufi, a high-rise building developer in Tirana. He was arrested in June at a hotel in the Greek city following a tip-off from Interpol. It is at this point that German media are raising questions: Why is a co-defendant being extradited from Greece, while the main person in the investigation continues to live in the US?
Full article from Junge Welt
An arrest warrant for money laundering linked to cocaine trafficking, issued in an EU candidate country. And a well-known residence: a multi-million dollar property in Miami Beach, on Biscayne Bay. Artur Shehu, the man who sold the land on the island of Sazan for the luxury resort in Albania promoted by Jared Kushner, the son-in-law and adviser to the US president, has been living with the two since June. And no one on the other side of the Atlantic seems to be in a hurry to reconcile the two.
Afate të ndryshme zbatoheshin për të bashkëpandehurin e tij. Më 30 korrik, Gjykata e Apelit e Selanikut miratoi ekstradimin e Ilir Shtufit, një ndërtues pallatesh të larta në Tiranë. Ai ishte arrestuar në qershor në një hotel në qytetin grek pas një informacioni nga Interpoli. Shtufi, të cilin mediat shqiptare e lidhin me djalin e liderit të opozitës Sali Berishë, u mbrojt duke pretenduar se po persekutohej politikisht. Ai do të jetë i pandehuri i parë në rastin "Aruba" që do të ekstradohet nga jashtë në Prokurorinë Speciale të Shqipërisë (SPAK). Nga 20 urdhër-arreste të SPAK-ut, gjashtë janë ekzekutuar deri më tani.
Pra, kush është Shehu, subjekti i këtij rasti?
Një sipërmarrës i cili, sipas një hulumtimi nga Miami Neë Times dhe rrjeti OCCRP, kaloi vite duke blerë tokë bregdetare në atdheun e tij nga Florida. Avokati i tij tregon historinë si më poshtë: Në vitin 1998, Shehu kërkoi azil politik në SHBA pasi "bandat kriminale" vranë vëllain dhe xhaxhain e tij para syve të tij - Reuters nuk ishte në gjendje ta verifikonte në mënyrë të pavarur këtë. Ai nuk u dënua kurrë. Megjithatë, që në vitin 2013, dokumentet gjyqësore të shqyrtuara nga CBS Neës tregojnë se banorët e Zvërnecit kundërshtuan pronësinë e tij mbi pronat - laguna është shtëpia e dhjetëra specieve të kafshëve të rrezikuara.
Dosja hetimore prej 200 faqesh, e datës 12 qershor dhe e shqyrtuar nga Reuters , ofron përgjigjen e hetuesve. SPAK akuzon Shehun dhe bashkëpunëtorët e tij për kontrabandë kokaine të Amerikës së Jugut në portet evropiane dhe investim të fitimeve në një perandori të pasurive të paluajtshme: blerjen e tokës duke përdorur mjete të paligjshme dhe dokumente të falsifikuara pronësie duke "krijuar tituj të rremë ose duke zgjeruar artificialisht sipërfaqet e tokës". Hetimi është rezultat i operacioneve të përgjimit që synojnë trafikimin e drogës.
Në prill, Shehu ia shiti pronat bregdetare Albania Land Development, kompanisë që qëndron pas projektit të Kushnerit. Të ardhurat - 110 milionë euro sipas dokumenteve të para nga Reuters - u ngrinë në llogarinë e noterit përpara se paratë të arrinin tek ai. Dosja nuk përmban akuza kundër Kushnerit, kompanive të projektit apo investitorëve. Partneri shqiptar i Kushnerit, Sazan Real Estate Development, i tha Neësëeek se "nuk ishte objekt i ndonjë hetimi" dhe se blerjet e tokës ishin të ligjshme.
The defense denies all charges. “None of what has been alleged about Mr. Shehu’s character is true: he is neither a drug trafficker nor a document forger,” lawyer Kujtim Cakrani told Reuters. The family has owned the land since Ottoman times and the sale was legal. Shehu himself called his ownership “undisputed” on an Albanian television program. He sold the land through a broker; he does not know who ultimately bought it. A dozen residents of Zvërnec provided Reuters with their property titles and tax documents; their legal counsel intends to seek a court order to stop the construction.
This is where the story stops being just an Albanian story. Cakrani confirmed that his client was aware of the arrest warrant and was not concerned about it. When asked by Reuters, a US Justice Department spokesman declined to comment on whether a request had ever been received from Tirana to find or detain Shehu in Miami. The result is a double standard: Greece extradites a co-defendant within seven weeks. The US, where the main suspect lives and where the president’s son-in-law is promoting the project, does not even need to respond.
Albanian politicians are treating the name with cross-party caution. Media in Tirana point out that Shehu served in the Republican Guard under President Berisha and that the properties were purchased during the years of democratic governments; however, the project was approved by the current government of Edi Rama, whose resignation has been demanded in protests that have been going on for months. The opposition is protesting against the resort - Berisha remains notably silent on the name Shehu. In Tirana, preparations are being made for the first interrogation. The man in Miami has no reason to rush at the moment.
