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24 days before the Prime Minister's Office/ Rama's response to the protesters: To those who call me "The Godfather", I say "F*ck you"

2026-06-23 10:03:00, Politikë CNA

24 days before the Prime Minister's Office/ Rama's response to the

Prime Minister Edi Rama, in an interview with the "Financial Times", spoke about the protests that have been taking place for more than three weeks in Tirana.

During the interview , Rama denied being the "Godfather of Albania", while giving a response to the protesters who demand his removal and consider him responsible for the development of the luxury resort in Zvërnec.

Regarding the Zvërnec project, the head of government stated that the investigations launched by SPAK into a group of businessmen are not related to the investment of Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

Meanwhile, during the interview, Rama repeated accusations that the protests were instigated by the US president's enemies, including Iran.

He also stressed that coastal development plans would move forward despite the protests.

Full interview for the Financial Times :

Prime Minister Edi Rama has denied being the “Godfather” of Albania after weeks of anti-corruption protests sparked by the development of a luxury resort linked to Donald Trump’s son-in-law. The so-called Flamingo Revolution was sparked by public anger over Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump’s planned $4 billion project on an island and near a nature reserve known for its flamingos.

Protesters have called on Rama to resign and be prosecuted for what they perceive as systemic corruption that allows international investors to build on protected land.

"People say I'm the leader of all this. I tell them to go fuck themselves. It's as simple as that. It's not my job to prove that I'm not the Godfather, it's their job to prove that I am the Godfather," Rama said.

Albanian prosecutors have issued arrest warrants for a group of businessmen for drug trafficking and money laundering, including one who previously owned land in the area to be developed by Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump.

A spokesman for Kushner and his other partners in Albania did not respond to requests for comment. Rama insisted that Kushner's investments were regular and had nothing to do with the ongoing investigation into a former landowner.

“To say that the Albanian economy is [based] on money laundering, that is terrible,” Rama told the FT in his office overlooking the boulevard where tens of thousands of people have demonstrated every night for more than three weeks.

“Money laundering is part of our economy, but it’s not that big of a problem,” he added. “Do you think there’s no money laundering in London? Yes. But would you say the British economy is largely money laundering? No.”

Albanian anti-corruption prosecutors have issued arrest warrants for 20 businessmen they say were involved in international drug smuggling and money laundering, with billions of euros allegedly funneled into major construction projects along the Adriatic coast and in the Albanian capital.

Among the businessmen is Artur Shehu, a dual US-Albanian citizen living in Miami. Shehu sold land near a nature reserve where flamingos nest in 2025 to Albania Land Development, a company linked to the Kushner project. The deal came under scrutiny by anti-corruption prosecutors, who froze payments worth 128 million euros pending an investigation.

Rama argued that his government allowed prosecutors to pursue cases more aggressively, which also increased the perception that the country was rife with corruption and organized crime.

“In fact, it's the opposite. Albania is struggling like never before and is much less corrupt today than it was.”

He repeated accusations that the protests were instigated by enemies of the US president, including Iran.

“There’s a lot of interest in shutting down this project… because of Trump ,” he said. “ If it weren’t for Jared Kushner… nobody would care about flamingos, Albania, anything. It’s all the hate against Trump that’s creating all this scrutiny.”

He said he was confident that coastal development plans would move forward despite the protests.

“The important thing is that the investors are not criminals and are not involved in money laundering,” Rama said. “They are big investors. It is a historic chance for Albania.” /CNA