By Pishtaz | 2024-12-30

The United States on December 19 sanctioned 12 operatives and companies accused of funneling Iranian funds to Yemen's Houthis through illicit oil shipments, arms trafficking and money laundering.

The move targets a financial network backed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force (IRGC-QF) that sustains Houthi operations and destabilizes international maritime commerce, the US Treasury said.

The sanctions follow Houthi attacks on more than 100 commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea since November 2023, according to the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

At the center of the financial web is governor of the Houthi-controlled central bank in Sanaa, Hashem al-Madani, who manages millions in IRGC-QF transfers.

His 2020 appointment by the Houthis' Supreme Political Council highlights Tehran's financial control over the militia, the Treasury said.

Senior Houthi financial coordinator Ahmed al-Hadi also is facing sanctions for overseeing critical fund transfers.

Two Yemeni financial entities, Al Thawr Exchange and Al Hazmi Exchange have been blacklisted for laundering Iranian funds.

Al Thawr operated under sanctioned financier Abdullah al-Jamal, while Al Hazmi used the previously designated Davos Exchange as cover.

Cryptocurrency transactions

The Treasury also identified five cryptocurrency wallets associated with previously sanctioned IRGC-QF-backed Houthi financial facilitator Said al-Jamal.

Al-Jamal runs a smuggling network involving arms, oil and cryptocurrency transactions between Iran and Yemen.

He generates revenue for the Houthis through the illicit sale of Iranian petroleum to customers in East Asia, enabled by a network of shipping firms in Malaysia that provide critical services to ships transporting this cargo.

Three Malaysian shipping firms -- Blu Shipping, Tefcas Marine and Merkur Energy Port Services -- are facing sanctions for servicing al-Jamal's smuggling fleet.

Merkur Energy's owner Puvaneswaran Venayagamoorthy and operations head Ezekial Kanniappan Jr were specifically named.

Also facing sanctions is Yemen-based Safwan al-Dubai Company, which has Chinese connections and allegedly imports weapons components.

Arms traffickers Wail Muhammad Abd-al-Wadud and Umar Ahmad Hajj were censured for coordinating weapons transfers through Somalia.

The move "underscores our commitment to leveraging all our tools to disrupt the Houthis' efforts to acquire weapons, procure dual-use components, and secure additional revenue," said Treasury official Bradley Smith.

Iranian oil revenue supports not only the Houthis but also the Iranian regime's broader proxy network and its nuclear and missile programs, the Treasury said.

Yemen's Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani welcomed the measures.

"These steps confirm the seriousness and credibility of the United States in combating terrorism, drying up its funding sources, and applying real pressure on the Houthis to abandon their terrorist approach," he said.

As "an Iranian arm," the Houthis threaten regional stability and are "a major factor in the continuation of war and terrorism in Yemen and the region," he said.