George Soros
No party
Legal status
Not charged
not-charged
What this means: No criminal charge against this person is recorded in the sources reviewed.
Conflicting records. The research disagrees; every version is shown and none has been chosen as correct.
- Legal status
- not-chargedFrom the research record · cites:
- Berisha-Fleckenstein clash over Soros role (opens in a new tab)Tirana Times · Feb 2016 · journalism · EN
- State Department Drops Sanctions Against Avowed Opponent of George Soros (opens in a new tab)Daily Signal · 13 Jun 2026 · political-statement · EN
- unknownFrom the research record · cites:
- Tirana Times: George Soros visits Tirana (opens in a new tab)Tirana Times · Dec 2014 · journalism · EN
- Sorosi dhe tentakulat në politikë e media (opens in a new tab)Balkanweb · 6 Feb 2016 · journalism · SQ
- not-chargedFrom the research record · cites:
- Source label
- UNDER_INVESTIGATIONFrom the research record · cites:
- Berisha-Fleckenstein clash over Soros role (opens in a new tab)Tirana Times · Feb 2016 · journalism · EN
- State Department Drops Sanctions Against Avowed Opponent of George Soros (opens in a new tab)Daily Signal · 13 Jun 2026 · political-statement · EN
- VERIFIEDFrom the research record · cites:
- Open Society Foundations in Albania: fact sheet (Albanian, 2018) (opens in a new tab)Open Society Foundations · 21 Feb 2018 · ngo · SQ
- UNVERIFIEDFrom the research record · cites:
- Soros funding research fileProject research file · 1 Nov 2026 · wiki · ENNo link recorded.
- UNDER_INVESTIGATIONFrom the research record · cites:
Profile
George Soros is a US-based investor and philanthropist who founded the Open Society Foundations network. Its Albanian arm (Open Society Foundation Albania, OSFA) is widely reported to have started in 1992. Berisha, Rama and US conservative outlets describe Soros very differently, and that disagreement is the subject of this file. No court or official finding shows that Soros directed Albanian prosecutors, the justice reform or the media.
Response from George Soros
No direct response from George Soros was found in the sources read. Open Society did not respond to requests for comment on whether George or Alex Soros played a role in the 2026 waiver (Tirana Times and Daily Signal summaries). On the Judicial Watch request about US funding, Open Society said it had never received or administered USAID funding in Albania (search summary, undated).
Other accounts in the research (3 fields worded differently)
This record appears in more than one research record. The main text above comes from one; the other versions are kept here unedited.
- Biography
- George Soros is a US-based investor and philanthropist who founded the Open Society Foundations network. Its Albanian arm (Open Society Foundation Albania, OSFA) is widely reported to have started in 1992. Berisha, Rama and US conservative outlets describe Soros very differently, and that disagreement is the subject of this file. No court or official finding shows that Soros directed Albanian prosecutors, the justice reform or the media.From the research record
- George Soros is an investor and philanthropist who founded the Open Society network, which began funding civil-society work in Albania in 1992 (OSFA). He is reported to have visited Tirana in 2005, when he met Sali Berisha (then Prime Minister) and Edi Rama (then Tirana Mayor), and reportedly in December 2014. Opposition politicians in Albania have called for the honorary citizenship given to him by Tirana to be revoked and for the Albanian foundation to be closed. Several US conservative outlets describe him as a political target. The sources reviewed do not contain a statement by George Soros about Edi Rama or the Albanian government.From the research record
- George Soros is a financier and philanthropist who founded the Open Society Foundations network. According to the OSF 2018 Albanian fact sheet, he has given over $32 billion of personal wealth to the foundations since 1984. The Open Society Foundation for Albania (OSFA) is one of the network's national foundations. OSF materials say each national foundation has its own local board and sets its own funding priorities.From the research record
- Founder of the Open Society Foundations. The OSF 2018 Albanian fact sheet, as cited in, describes the foundation network's national structure. No document read in this slice links George Soros personally to the Flamingo or Zvërnec protests or to any named organiser.From the research record
- Founder of the Open Society Foundations network. The Open Society Foundation Albania (OSFA) was started in 1992 according to its own account. Repeatedly named by Albanian politicians (Berisha, Meta) and by US commentators as a source of influence on Albanian institutions; these claims are recorded in the existingandand are not re-tested here.From the research record
- Legal status detail
- No criminal case against George Soros in Albania was found in the sources read.From the research record
- No Albanian legal case against George Soros was found in the sources reviewed. Some US political actors have called for investigations; these are not Albanian proceedings.From the research record
- No criminal case against Soros in relation to Albania was found in this research.From the research record
- No criminal case against him in relation to Albania was found in the sources read.From the research record
- No charges found in sources read.From the research record
- Response
- No direct response from George Soros was found in the sources read. Open Society did not respond to requests for comment on whether George or Alex Soros played a role in the 2026 waiver (Tirana Times and Daily Signal summaries). On the Judicial Watch request about US funding, Open Society said it had never received or administered USAID funding in Albania (search summary, undated).From the research record
- No direct statement by George Soros about Edi Rama was found in the sources reviewed.From the research record
- Open Society says the Albanian foundation has never accepted or administered USAID funding (exit.al, 2017, article by Goran Buldioski). Soros has not been quoted on the Albanian funding in sources reviewed here.From the research record
- Not found in the sources read for the protests.From the research record
- Not found in this slice for the 2026 protests.From the research record
Related cases
Sorted by reported money, then by linked people and their legal status. The money figure is the largest single reported figure, not a total.
From Feb 2016
Claims that Soros controls SPAK, the justice reform, Rama or the media
Since at least 2016 Berisha has said that Soros and Open Society shaped or corrupted Albanian institutions, including the justice reform, SPAK, the media, and Rama's government. He has called Rama a…
Status: Claims continue. No official finding.
From 21 Jul 2022
UK entry ban on Sali Berisha (2022), upheld on appeal (2024)
On 21 July 2022 the UK Home Office, via envoy Sir Stuart Peach, imposed an entry ban on Berisha. The public grounds were a claimed link to organised crime groups and corruption. Berisha published the…
Status: Ban imposed July 2022. Appeal dismissed June 2024.
From Dec 2016
Funding of the Flamingo protest organisers and the 'Soros' accusations against them
Named organisers of the 2026 Flamingo movement are spread across an informal protest network, with Lëvizja Bashkë and Shqipëria Bëhet as the two registered political vehicles of named leaders. For…
Status: Open research. No OSF/OSFA grant to a named protest organiser found. Party-finance records checked only through the Open Spending Albania register; CEC annual…
A case listed here names this person. It does not mean they are accused in it; read the case page.
Connections
Open the map →Berisha says Soros drove his sanctions and SPAK
Evidence: Berisha says the UK ban and the 2021 US designation were sponsored by Soros and Rama (Exit News 2022; Free Beacon summary 2021). No primary evidence found.
Berisha says Rama is Soros-aligned; Rama denies Soros drafted the justice reform
Evidence: Berisha called Rama a 'Soros puppet' (Tirana Times, 2016). Rama said it is 'not normal' to believe Soros carried out the justice reform (A2 CNN, 2025). Rama does not deny being a friend of Alex Soros (summary).
Reported meeting during 2005 Tirana visit (Rama then mayor)
Evidence: Reported in Balkanweb (2016) and Tirana Times; primary source not located.
Tirana honorary citizenship given to Soros while Rama was mayor
Evidence: Shqiptarja (30 August 2025) states the title was given by Rama while mayor; the date of award is not stated.
PD leader accuses Soros of corrupting Albanian institutions (partisan; no protest link)
Evidence: Search summary of Albanian reporting; the accusation concerns institutions generally, not the protest organisers.
Meta accuses Soros of a 2019 plot (accusation only)
Evidence: Shqiptarja, 8 July 2019: Meta's claim; no evidence in the article.
Berisha accuses Soros network of threat to democracy (2016-17 and later)
Evidence: Tirana Times, Feb. 23 article (year not shown): Berisha's social-media reply and 'great threat' remark; the documents he cites are not shown.
US official rejects that Soros drove the Berisha designation (2021)
Evidence: exit.al interview, 13 Dec 2021: 'absolutely wrong... dangerous'.
PD rhetoric linking Soros to Rama and PD protesters (not October)
Evidence: Search summaries report Berisha calling Soros a 'monster of humanity' and linking him to Rama, and a PD 'paid by Soros' headline (27 Jun, year unconfirmed). This is rhetoric, not evidence of Soros funding.
LaCivita publicly casts Soros as Rama's sponsor
Evidence: Campaign-period 'puppet of George Soros' remark reported by AP (snippet-only) and National Review (403, snippet-only).
Timeline
Other
Open Society Foundation Albania begins work (reported as 1992)
Open Society's Albanian foundation is widely reported to have been founded in 1992 to support democratisation. The exact founding date was not confirmed. Berisha was president from 1992. He has said he welcomed Soros's first visit to Albania in 1992 because NGOs were important in other former communist countries. Whether his government supported or obstructed OSFA between 1992 and 1997 was not found in the sources read.
Linked: Claims that Soros controls SPAK, the justice reform, Rama or the media · Sali Berisha · George Soros
Other
OSFA begins work in Albania
OSF's own fact sheets say the Open Society Foundation for Albania began its work in 1992, after the fall of the communist regime. Another source gives 1994; OSF materials do not support that date. The exact registration date was not found.
Linked: Open Society Foundation Albania and the 2014-2016 justice reform · George Soros
Other
George Soros visits Tirana (Roma integration programme); meets Berisha and Rama; honorary citizenship given
Reported in Balkanweb (2016) that Soros visited Tirana in 2005. Other reporting says that during the visit he met Sali Berisha (then Prime Minister) and Edi Rama (then Tirana Mayor), and that the Tirana municipality gave him the title 'Honorary Citizen of Tirana' (the date of the title is not stated; Shqiptarja, 2025, says Rama gave it while mayor). The visit was described as concerning a Roma integration programme. The exact date of the honorary title and the meeting details are not confirmed by a primary source.
Linked: Allegations that Open Society influenced the 2016 Albanian justice reform and the government · George Soros · Edi Rama · Sali Berisha
Government
Soros visits Albania (Roma programme); meets Berisha and Rama
Soros visited Albania in 2005 about a Roma integration programme. He met then-Prime Minister Berisha and then-Tirana mayor Edi Rama. The exact date was not confirmed. Shqiptarja is cited in a search summary for a January 2008 Davos meeting in which the government called Soros a friend of Albania; that source was not retrieved and is not relied on here.
Linked: Claims that Soros controls SPAK, the justice reform, Rama or the media · Sali Berisha · Edi Rama · George Soros
Other
Soros visits Tirana; Rama was mayor
Tirana Times reports that George Soros visited Albania in 2005 about a programme for the social and economic integration of the Roma community. He met Prime Minister Sali Berisha and Tirana mayor Edi Rama, and received the title 'Honorary Citizen of Tirana'. The exact day and the municipal decision were not confirmed in official records.
Linked: George Soros · Edi Rama · Sali Berisha
Other
George Soros visits Tirana; expected meetings with Rama and Basha; reported working dinner with Rama
A Tirana Times article dated 4 December (year not stated; inferred 2014 from the page's 'years ago' label and the officeholders named) says Soros was expected to meet Rama on Thursday and Basha on Friday. It also says he would attend an event at the Tirana Times bookstore and meet the staff of his Tirana foundation. A 2016 Balkanweb piece says he dined with Rama in 2014. The Basha meeting is not confirmed.
Linked: Allegations that Open Society influenced the 2016 Albanian justice reform and the government · George Soros · Edi Rama · Lulzim Basha
Other
Berisha calls Soros a 'great threat'; Fleckenstein responds with 'Soros fairytales'
Berisha said Soros was a 'great threat to Albania's democracy', said he had corrupted several Albanian institutions, and urged the European Parliament to investigate. He also called Rama a 'Soros puppet'. Fleckenstein, the European Parliament rapporteur, told Berisha to stop the 'Soros fairytales'. The exact day is inferred from the article's dateline ('Feb. 23'); the year is inferred from the page's '10 years ago' label. Confirm the date from the original page.
Linked: Claims that Soros controls SPAK, the justice reform, Rama or the media · Sali Berisha · Knut Fleckenstein · Edi Rama · George Soros
Media
exit.al publishes claims from leaked DC Leaks files about OSFA strategy
exit.al published an article based on DC Leaks files, claiming the justice reform was initiated and designed by OSFA, which drafted a strategy in summer 2013. The article links to a 2014-2017 OSFA strategy plan on Scribd. The document was not verified.
Linked: Open Society Foundation Albania and the 2014-2016 justice reform · Edi Rama · George Soros
International
Judicial Watch claims USAID money went to Soros-linked Albanian campaign
Judicial Watch, a US watchdog, published a FOIA-based claim that USAID gave about USD 9 million (Fox News reported USD 8.8 million) in 2016 to a 'Justice for All' campaign run by EWMI, which it linked to Soros. The US agencies disputed the characterisation, and USAID said it made no grants to OSFA.
Linked: Open Society Foundation Albania and the 2014-2016 justice reform · George Soros
Other
Ilir Meta accuses Soros of a 'plot' over the 30 June elections and justice reform; OSF responds
Per Shqiptarja, then-President Meta said George Soros stood behind a long-prepared plot to fuel civil clashes on 30 June and to influence the justice reform. Laura Silber for OSF called the characterisation strange. No evidence for the plot is given in the article.
Linked: Ilir Meta · Laura Silber · George Soros
International
US official Gabriel Escobar rejects claim that Soros sponsored Berisha's persona non grata designation
In an interview with journalist Sokol Balla in Tirana, Escobar called the claim 'absolutely wrong' and 'dangerous'. He said the US designations were not meant as a political tool, and that evidence could be shared with Albanian justice. He gave no Soros-related figures.
Linked: Gabriel Escobar · Sali Berisha · George Soros
International
US official Gabriel Escobar calls Soros-behind-Berisha-ban claim 'absolutely wrong'
In an exit.al interview, Escobar rejected the claim that Soros was behind the US designation barring Berisha, calling it 'absolutely wrong' and 'dangerous'.
Linked: Gabriel Escobar · Sali Berisha · George Soros
International
UK bans Berisha from entry (organised crime and corruption grounds)
UK envoy Sir Stuart Peach announced sanctions; Berisha said he was among those named, and published the letter. He called the decision a result of 'corrupt lobbying of Edi Rama and billionaire George Soros'. The UK did not publicly name Soros or Rama.
Linked: UK entry ban on Sali Berisha (2022), upheld on appeal (2024) · Sali Berisha · Edi Rama · George Soros
Other
Alex Soros takes over as head of the Open Society Foundations network
Reported by Telex and AP (snippet-only) that Alex Soros took over his father's empire in June 2023 and was voted OSF president. The day is not given in the sources: the date here is set to the first of the month.
Linked: Alexander (Alex) Soros · George Soros
Other
OSF announces significant pullback from European Union work and staff cuts
AP (August 2023, snippet-only) reported OSF planned to significantly curtail work in Europe and lay off much of its European staff, with reported cuts of about 80% in Berlin and at least 60% in Brussels, and closure of the Barcelona office (most staff left). OSF called this a 'recalibration of our work in the European Union'. A separate AP report said OSF planned to lay off about 40% of global staff, with about 800 staff and offices in more than 20 countries. The date is the first AP wire date seen; exact day of the internal memo not confirmed.
Linked: Alexander (Alex) Soros · George Soros
Media
Agim Nesho's Fox News op-ed calls Rama a Soros 'disciple'
Opinion piece by a former Albanian ambassador describing Rama as a former disciple of George Soros and the Open Society and the Open Balkan initiative as Soros-backed. No evidence cited in the part read.
Linked: Agim Nesho · Edi Rama · George Soros
Other
Democratic Party asks Tirana council to remove George Soros's honorary citizenship
The Democratic Party asked the Tirana municipal council to meet urgently and remove the 'Honorary Citizen of Tirana' title given to Soros by Rama while mayor. The reasons were that Trump had called Soros an 'enemy of democracy' and that the US administration had asked for a RICO investigation of Soros and his son. The article reports no council session or vote. The RICO claim is not verified here.
Linked: Klevis Balliu · Sali Berisha · George Soros
International
State Department confirms waivers for some 7031(c) designations, including Berisha's
The State Department confirmed waivers for certain 7031(c) designations from the previous administration on 11 June 2026. Its statement to Euronews Albania said waivers had been granted for individuals affected. It did not say the designation was formally rescinded. The Daily Signal framed the change as dropping sanctions on an opponent of Soros; Berisha suggested Soros played a role. The Open Society Foundations did not respond on whether George or Alex Soros played a role.
Linked: US Section 7031(c) designation of Sali Berisha (2021) and 2026 waiver · Sali Berisha · George Soros
Protest
Protest speech at the Prime Minister's Office: 'we are also protesting against Soros'
At the 15th protest in the capital, a speaker (not named here) said the crowd also protested Soros, who he said had brought Rama and Berisha to power. Balkanweb headlines the line. Berisha is not quoted in the article. The speech is the only Soros-protest line in 2026 found that is in a reliable Albanian outlet read in full.
Linked: Sali Berisha · Edi Rama · George Soros
Sources for this record
Every source the research cites for this record, grouped by its source label. 14 sources.
Source label: Officially reportedOfficially reported · 4 sources
- Publisher
- Tirana Times
- Date
- 2016 or 2017
- Publisher
- Shqiptarja
- Date
- 30 Aug 2025
- Publisher
- Shqiptarja
- Date
- 8 Jul 2019
- Publisher
- exit.al
- Date
- 13 Dec 2021
Source label: Under investigationUnder investigation · 5 sources
- Publisher
- Daily Signal
- Date
- 13 Jun 2026
- Publisher
- Tirana Times
- Date
- Dec 2014
- Publisher
- Balkanweb
- Date
- 6 Feb 2016
- Publisher
- Open Society Foundations
- Date
- 21 Feb 2018
- Soros funding research fileNo link recorded.
- Publisher
- Project research file
- Date
- 1 Nov 2026
Source label: DisputedDisputed · 1 source
- Publisher
- AP via Boston Globe
- Date
- 8 May 2025
Source label: UnverifiedUnverified · 4 sources
- Publisher
- Exit News
- Date
- 22 Jul 2022
- Publisher
- Washington Free Beacon
- Date
- 2021
- Publisher
- A2 CNN
- Date
- UNDATED
- Publisher
- Shqiptarja
- Date
- 27 Jun 2026