The latest is the Bank of Yemen and Kuwait.. What are the repercussions of US sanctions on the banking sector in areas controlled by the Houthis?

Last Friday, the United States imposed sanctions on the Bank of Yemen and Kuwait, the oldest private bank in Yemen, for its involvement in financing the Houthi militia, which it has classified as a global terrorist organization in particular, according to the sanctions statement issued by the US Treasury.

The US Treasury listed a series of crimes in which the bank was involved that required the imposition of sanctions on it, including: financial support for the Houthis, access to the US and international financial system for the benefit of the militia, financing Houthi maritime attacks, directing illicit revenues from Iranian oil to the Houthis, receiving funds from the Revolutionary Guard for the benefit of the Houthis from illicit trade, money laundering for the benefit of militia leaders, in addition to transferring funds for the benefit of the Lebanese Hezbollah. It also accused it of helping and coordinating with the Suwaid Exchange Company to establish front companies to facilitate Iranian oil sales.

Observers and economic experts believe that imposing sanctions is a clear indication of a shift in US policy towards the Houthis, by imposing sanctions on the Houthi financial and revenue aspects, after two decades of ignoring them.

According to observers, the sanctions on the Bank of Yemen and Kuwait are a prelude to a series of other sanctions that will affect most banking and economic activities dealing with the Houthis, as 15 members of the US Senate submitted a bill to Congress to classify the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization, which is a high level that criminalizes any financial or commercial dealings with any member representing the Houthi group or affiliated with it.

Bank involvement with Houthi

Financial expert Abdul Wahid Al-Awbali said in a special statement to "Yemeni Youth Net", "The banks in Sana'a dealt with the Houthi militia in one way or another, and that the banks, especially Yemen and Kuwait, were the most important banks involved with the Houthis, and the US Treasury has known this for years, and that the US position no longer needs the Houthi card and has begun to clip its financial wings."

Al-Awbali pointed out that the most important reasons for punishing the bank were its involvement in transferring Iranian oil and gas revenues provided to the Houthis, and smuggling them outside Yemen, to finance the Houthis and their agents.

Al-Awbali accused many parties of dealing with the Houthis, including officials in the leadership of the Central Bank in Aden.

In the same context, informed sources revealed that Qusay Al-Mahtoori, the director of the bank’s remittance department, was involved in a large part of the operations that led the US Treasury to impose sanctions on the bank, especially the external remittance operations for Houthi front companies.

Position of "Yemen and Kuwait" and the Banks Association

He added that the banks refused to storm Aqaba and preferred a slow death, referring to the banks' rejection of the transfer decision issued by the government last April.

Al-Sarmi pointed out that the International Bank of Yemen, one of the largest Yemeni banks, is also threatened with bankruptcy, and the US sanctions on the Bank of Yemen Kuwait, and the rest of the other banks are exposed to danger.

Last April, the Central Bank in Aden gave six of the largest Yemeni banks a two-month deadline to move their main administrations and operations to Aden. These banks are the Bank of Yemen and Kuwait, the International Bank of Yemen, the Solidarity Bank, Al-Kuraimi Bank, the Shamil Bank of Yemen and Bahrain, and Al-Amal Bank, warning them against involvement in financing the Houthis’ crimes, which are classified as terrorist by the government. The Houthis responded by threatening to target Saudi banks, considering it a Saudi decision. A formal mediation by UN envoy Hans Grundberg led the government to back down from its decisions.

The government at the time attributed its decision to protecting the banking sector from being exploited by the militia, especially after it seized bank balances and customer deposits and issued a law that suspended most of its activities under the pretext of combating usury.