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Crackdown on Houthi Financing: OFAC Targets Yemen Kuwait Bank

Maggie Johnson

By Maggie Johnson

January 20, 2025


Image Credit: “Houthi rebels will have role in Yemen’s future, says UAE, Houthi news,” available at Yahoo Images (01/20/2025).

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has taken decisive action to disrupt the financial networks enabling Houthi attacks. Yemen Kuwait Bank for Trade and Investment Y.S.C. has been sanctioned for financially supporting the Houthis, a group that threatens shipping lanes and U.S. interests in the Red Sea.

Acting Under Secretary Bradley T. Smith emphasized the Houthis' reliance on institutions like Yemen Kuwait Bank to access global financial systems and fund destabilizing activities in the region. The sanctions are part of a broader U.S. effort to dismantle financial networks supporting Houthi attacks on shipping, naval forces, and Israel. These measures build upon previous actions targeting Houthi-linked exchange houses and international finance channels connected to Iranian oil proceeds.

Investigations revealed that Yemen Kuwait Bank played a key role in helping the Houthis establish and finance front companies to facilitate Iranian oil sales in coordination with already-sanctioned entities. The bank has also been implicated in laundering money and transferring funds to Houthi allies, including Lebanese Hizballah.

This designation, enacted under Executive Order 13224, follows the U.S. State Department's classification of Ansarallah (the Houthis) as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist organization in February 2024. Consequently, all U.S.-based assets of Yemen Kuwait Bank are now frozen, and American individuals are prohibited from conducting transactions with the institution.

Financial institutions worldwide have been warned that dealings with Yemen Kuwait Bank could result in secondary sanctions, threatening their access to the U.S. financial system.

The sanctions coincide with a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas announced this week, a development that could signal a reduction in Houthi attacks on Red Sea commercial shipping. This alignment of events offers hope for a more stable and secure future in the region.

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