Latest news with #Houthis'
UPI
a day ago
- Business
- UPI
U.S. sanctions Houthi petroleum smuggling network
The U.S. Treasury under Secretary Scott Bessent sanctioned two people and five companies on Tuesday on accusations of being a Houthi petroleum smuggling network. File Photo by Yuri Gripas/UPI | License Photo July 23 (UPI) -- The United States has blacklisted two Yemeni nationals and five companies on accusations of laundering money and importing petroleum products for the Houthi rebels. The Houthis, also known as Ansarallah, work with privately owned companies to ensure continued shipments of petroleum products into areas of Yemen under their control. On Tuesday, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned Muhammad Al-Sunaydar, 38, and three companies his connected to, as well as Yahya Mohammed Al Wazir, 44, and two of his companies, for facilitating those petroleum product transactions. "The Houthis collaborate with opportunistic businessmen to reap enormous profits from the importation of petroleum products and to enable the group's access to the international financial system," Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Michael Faulkender said in a statement. "These networks of shady businesses underpin the Houthis' terrorist machine, and Treasury will use all tools at its disposal to disrupt these schemes." The long proxy war between Iran and Israel exploded into the open on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas, another Iran-backed militia, attacked Israel. Israel responded by devastating the Palestinian enclave of Gaza. Since November 2023, the Houthis have enforced a maritime blockade of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, attacking vessels, including U.S. military ships that transit the important trade route, in solidarity with the Palestinians, nearly 60,000 of whom have been killed by Israel. The United States, under both the Biden and Trump administrations, has been hammering the Houthis with sanctions, seeking to corrode their ability to make war, with President Donald Trump re-designating the Iran-proxy militia as a foreign terrorist organization in January. "The United States is committed to disrupting the Houthis' illicit revenue generation by maintaining pressure on the financial facilitators that fuel the Houthi enterprise," State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement. "Today's action builds on a series of measures targeting Houthi revenue generation and weapons procurement, reaffirming our resolve to counter terrorism, promote regional security and uphold freedom of navigation."
Khabar Agency
2 days ago
- Business
- Khabar Agency
Treasury Sanctions Houthi-Linked Petroleum Smuggling and Sanctions Evasion Network
WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is designating two individuals and five entities that profit through money laundering and importing petroleum products into territory controlled by Ansarallah, commonly known as the Houthis. The Iran-backed Houthis gain hundreds of millions of dollars annually by working with Yemeni businessmen to tax petroleum imports, generating critical revenue that funds the Houthis' destabilizing activities in the region. Today's action targets a network of individuals and their companies located across Yemen and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) who are among the most significant importers of petroleum products and money launderers that benefit the Houthis. 'The Houthis collaborate with opportunistic businessmen to reap enormous profits from the importation of petroleum products and to enable the group's access to the international financial system,' said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Michael Faulkender. 'These networks of shady businesses underpin the Houthis' terrorist machine, and Treasury will use all tools at its disposal to disrupt these schemes.' Today's action is being taken pursuant to the counterterrorism authority Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, as amended, and builds on a series of OFAC actions targeting Houthi revenue generation and weapons procurement over the past year, including on June 17, 2024, July 31, 2024, October 2, 2024, December 19, 2024, March 5, 2025, April 2, 2025, April 28, 2025, and June 20, 2025. The U.S. Department of State designated Ansarallah, commonly known as the Houthis, as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) on February 16, 2024, and subsequently re-designated the group as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) on March 5, 2025. HOUTHI PETROLEUM AND FUEL COMPANIES The Houthis work with privately owned companies to ensure continued shipments of petroleum products into areas they control in Yemen. Once in Yemen, the Houthis profit even further by controlling the selling price of these petroleum products to the Yemeni people, typically at a significant markup. Muhammad Al-Sunaydar (Al-Sunaydar), who manages a network of petroleum companies between Yemen and the United Arab Emirates, is one of the most prominent petroleum importers in Yemen. Al-Sunaydar manages Arkan Mars Petroleum Company for Oil Products Imports (Arkan Mars), which has an agreement with the Houthis to import gas and oil, including Iranian petroleum products, for the terrorist group through the Houthi-controlled Hudaydah and Ras Isa ports in Yemen. As of June 2025, Iranian-affiliated companies were involved in facilitating payments between the Iranian government and Houthi-affiliated oil companies, including Arkan Mars. As a part of Al-Sunaydar's network, Arkan Mars Petroleum DMCC and Arkan Mars Petroleum FZE are UAE-based companies associated with Arkan Mars that have been involved in exporting oil to Yemen. All three of the Arkan Mars companies coordinated the delivery of approximately $12 million dollars' worth of Iranian petroleum products with the Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industry Commercial Company (PGPICC) to the Houthis via Ras Isa port in Yemen. PGPICC was designated by OFAC pursuant to E.O. 13382 for being owned or controlled by Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industry Co. (PGPIC). PGPIC was itself designated pursuant to E.O. 13382 that same day for having provided financial support to Khatam al-Anbiya, the engineering conglomerate of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Yahya Mohammed Al Wazir launders and raises money for the Houthis. Between November and December 2024, Al-Saida Stone for Trading and Agencies (Al-Saida) spent approximately six million euros across five payments to purchase bulk coal, presumably to import into Yemen. Al-Saida's public advertisement of itself as a stationery wholesaler in Sana'a, Yemen is at odds with repeated large volume payments for coal and is typical of the behaviors of a front company. Amran Cement Factory is a Houthi-controlled entity that has been providing the terrorist group with money laundering and earning capabilities. In addition, as of March 2025, the Houthis have directed production of cement from Amran Cement Factory to the mountainous Saada region in northern Yemen as part of a larger Houthi effort to develop and fortify military, weapons storage, and ammunitions caches. Muhammad Al-Sunaydar, Arkan Mars Petroleum Company for Oil Products Imports, Arkan Mars Petroleum DMCC, Arkan Mars Petroleum FZE, Yahya Mohammed Al Wazir, Al-Saida Stone for Trading and Agencies, and Amran Cement Factory are being designated pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, the Houthis. SANCTIONS IMPLICATIONS As a result of today's action, all property and interests in property of the designated or blocked persons described above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked. Unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC, or exempt, OFAC's regulations generally prohibit all transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of blocked persons. Violations of U.S. sanctions may result in the imposition of civil or criminal penalties on U.S. and foreign persons. OFAC may impose civil penalties for sanctions violations on a strict liability basis. OFAC's Economic Sanctions Enforcement Guidelines provide more information regarding OFAC's enforcement of U.S. economic sanctions. In addition, financial institutions and other persons may risk exposure to sanctions for engaging in certain transactions or activities involving designated or otherwise blocked persons. The prohibitions include the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any designated or blocked person, or the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person. Furthermore, engaging in certain transactions involving the persons designated today may risk the imposition of secondary sanctions on participating foreign financial institutions. OFAC can prohibit or impose strict conditions on opening or maintaining, in the United States, a correspondent account or a payable-through account of a foreign financial institution that knowingly conducts or facilitates any significant transaction on behalf of a person who is designated pursuant to the relevant authority. The power and integrity of OFAC sanctions derive not only from OFAC's ability to designate and add persons to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN List), but also from its willingness to remove persons from the SDN List consistent with the law. The ultimate goal of sanctions is not to punish, but to bring about a positive change in behavior. For information concerning the process for seeking removal from an OFAC list, including the SDN List, or to submit a request, please refer to OFAC's guidance on Filing a Petition for Removal from an OFAC List.
Yemen Online
7 days ago
- Business
- Yemen Online
UN Envoy: Houthi Currency Issuance Violates Yemen's Economic De-escalation Agreement
The United Nations Special Envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, has condemned the Houthi group's recent issuance of new currency as a violation of the economic de-escalation understandings reached between Yemeni parties in July 2024. In a statement released Thursday, Grundberg expressed deep concern over the Houthis' unilateral decision to mint 50-rial coins and print 200-rial banknotes, warning that such actions threaten to undermine Yemen's fragile economy and deepen institutional and monetary divisions. 'These unilateral measures are not a viable solution to liquidity challenges,' Grundberg said. 'They risk eroding trust, destabilizing financial frameworks, and complicating efforts to restore economic stability.' The envoy urged all parties to refrain from unilateral steps and instead pursue coordinated approaches that foster dialogue and support broader stabilization efforts. He emphasized the need to prioritize restoring confidence, strengthening institutions, and delivering tangible relief to the Yemeni population. The currency issuance comes despite a UN-mediated agreement in 2024 that called for halting all economic escalations and maintaining neutrality in financial policy as part of a broader roadmap for de-escalation.
Yemen Online
7 days ago
- Politics
- Yemen Online
Barry Donadio: Trump Administration Will Eliminate Houthis If Maritime Threats Persist
Aden — American security and strategic analyst Barry Donadio has warned that the Trump administration is prepared to completely eliminate the Houthi militia in Yemen if their threats to international shipping continue. In a recent statement, Donadio emphasized that the Houthis' ability to disrupt maritime traffic in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait has significantly diminished due to ongoing U.S. airstrikes. He noted that President Donald Trump's administration has adopted a zero-tolerance policy toward any group endangering global trade routes, and that the current military campaign will persist until the Houthis' military capabilities are fully neutralized. 'Yemeni airspace is now under full U.S. control,' Donadio said, adding that the Houthis must cease their attacks on commercial vessels if they wish to avoid further escalation. He described the group as Iran's last remaining proxy in the region and asserted that Washington is determined to dismantle its operational infrastructure. The remarks come amid heightened tensions in the Red Sea, where Houthi forces have targeted international vessels in what they claim is retaliation for regional conflicts. The Trump administration has responded with intensified airstrikes and expanded naval patrols to secure freedom of navigation.
Yemen Online
7 days ago
- Business
- Yemen Online
Global Condemnation Over Houthis' Unilateral Currency Issuance in Yemen
Sana'a — The Houthi group's decision to issue new currency in Yemen has triggered widespread international condemnation, with major powers warning that the move could further destabilize the country's fragile economy. The newly minted 50-rial and 200-rial coins, introduced by the Houthi-controlled Central Bank in Sana'a, were denounced by the European Union, United States, United Kingdom, and France. The EU described the issuance as 'illegal counterfeiting,' asserting that only the internationally recognized Central Bank in Aden holds the legitimate authority to print currency. Yemen's government in Aden condemned the move as a violation of national sovereignty and a dangerous escalation that threatens to deepen economic divisions. Financial experts warned that the introduction of unbacked currency could fuel inflation and undermine public confidence in the monetary system. The U.S. Embassy in Yemen stated that the Houthis' actions jeopardize the integrity of the banking sector and urged financial institutions to reject the unauthorized currency. Analysts believe the Houthis may be attempting to establish a parallel economy, further entrenching Yemen's political and financial fragmentation. The Central Bank in Aden has warned of potential sanctions against any entities that accept or circulate the new currency.
