US sanctions Houthi network procuring funds, resources from Russia

Washington has sanctioned a network of Houthi financial facilitators and procurement operatives working to obtain funds and commodities from Russia, the U.S. Treasury Department announced on Wednesday.

The department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control also identified eight digital asset wallets the Houthis used to transfer funds.

The network coordinated with Sa’id al-Jamal, a senior Houthi financial official backed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and has “procured tens of millions of dollars’ worth of commodities from Russia, including weapons and sensitive goods,” in addition to stolen Ukrainian grain, to send to Houthi-controlled Yemen.

“The Houthis remain reliant on Sa’id al-Jamal and his network to procure critical goods to supply the group’s terrorist war machine,” stated U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. “Today’s action underscores our commitment to degrading the Houthis’ ability to threaten the region through their destabilizing activities.”

In January, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to reclassify the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen as a foreign terrorist organization after it was downgraded under the Biden administration. The U.S. State Department officially issued the reclassification in March.

©️ JNS