NEW: A Miami mansion, ties to Italian crime figures, and a bar shootout.
Meet Artur Shehu: An Albanian businessman who has been accused of building a property empire of stolen land in Albania.
Our investigation with @MiamiHerald: 1/
occrp.org/en/investigati…
Meet Artur Shehu: An Albanian businessman who has been accused of building a property empire of stolen land in Albania.
Our investigation with @MiamiHerald: 1/
occrp.org/en/investigati…
Shehu, who offered OCCRP’s reporter "whatever you want" in exchange for dropping the story, is accused of stealing land meant to be returned to Albanians after the collapse of its communist government.
Italian police have linked him to drug trafficking and money laundering. 2/
Italian police have linked him to drug trafficking and money laundering. 2/
A former special forces soldier, Shehu allegedly prospered in drug trafficking.
But his time in Albania ended in 1999 after his uncle was gunned down at Shehu’s bar, dying in his arms. 3/
But his time in Albania ended in 1999 after his uncle was gunned down at Shehu’s bar, dying in his arms. 3/
Shehu’s alleged crimes are part of a wider saga being played out across Albania – a legacy of the communists who nationalized property, and a spree of theft during attempts in the ‘90s to return it to private ownership. 4/
Shehu has not officially been accused of a crime, but an associate who oversees many of his properties has been found guilty of using forgery to obtain land on behalf of the Shehu family. 5/
Families fighting for the return of their stolen property hope that, despite Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s failure to resolve the land crisis, the government will fulfill their dreams. 6/
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