A Houthi campaign against businessman Al-Kabous after US sanctions on Al-Hadi

For days, Houthi activists have been waging an intensive media campaign against businessman Hassan Al-Kabous, chairman of the Al-Kabous Commercial and Investment Group and the legitimate head of the Chamber of Commerce.

Houthi activist Haitham Abdul Qader Al-Mutawakel published a series of posts, tweets, and audio recordings over several days, holding Al-Kabous responsible for imposing US sanctions on Ali Al-Hadi, the Houthi businessman who stormed the Chamber of Commerce, seized it, and seized it from Al-Kabous.

The US Treasury imposed sanctions on Houthi leader Ali al-Hadi for his role in transferring Russian weapons to the Houthis. Al-Hadi acknowledges visiting Russia but denies transferring the weapons.

Haitham Al-Mutawakel, who describes himself as a political and human rights activist based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, said he "obtained information and documents proving Al-Kabous's role in Oman, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Cairo, through which he provided information to place Al-Hadi on the sanctions list."

Exclusive sources from within the US embassy in #Aden revealed information that reveals a prominent role of businessman #Hassan_Al-Kabous and politician #Hafez_Maiad in including the head of the Chamber of Commerce in the capital’s secretariat on the US sanctions list that targeted a number of Yemenis in Yemen pic.twitter.com/AJybRVIzKD

— Haitham Al-Mutawakel (@haithamabdulkar) March 12, 2025

A Houthi website called "Al-Watan News" also published information similar to what Al-Mutawakel said. The information was widely circulated on Houthi search engines such as "Sahafatk" and "Ajras Al-Yaman." It was also published by media outlets loyal to Sultan Al-Samai, a member of the Houthi Political Council.

The head of the Houthi identity channel, Mohammed al-Imad, indirectly participated in the campaign, posting a tweet on his Twitter account, which was retweeted by al-Mutawakkil, claiming that the Saudi special committee was dealing with businessmen and tools of the former regime. He questioned the Houthi government's criminalization of such contacts.

Haitham Al-Mutawakel reopened the case of the deaths of 85 citizens at the end of Ramadan two years ago, after they had gathered at a school to receive cash assistance from Al-Kabous. Al-Mutawakel claimed that this incident, along with Al-Kabous's stance on Al-Hadi's expropriation of the Chamber of Commerce, also played a role, leading him to report Al-Hadi for possible sanctions.

In the audio forum, which is often attended by senior Houthi activists on the X platform, Al-Mutawakel said that if Al-Kaboos did not respond with credible and clear evidence of what he presented in the forum, he would be held responsible for the sanctions against Al-Hadi.