Yemen Monitor / Newsroom:
The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced on Thursday that it has imposed sanctions on the Yemeni International Bank and three of its senior executives for providing financial support to the Houthi movement.
The sanctions target three individuals in the bank’s leadership: Kamal Hussein Al-Jabri, Chairman of the Board; Ahmed Thabet Naaman Al-Absi, Executive General Manager; and Abdelqader Ali Bazara’a, Deputy General Manager. They are accused of facilitating financial transactions that support Houthi activities.
The Treasury Department stated that this action against the Yemen International Bank and its executives — following the designation of the Yemen and Kuwait Bank for Trade and Investment on January 17, 2025 — further targets the Houthis’ access to and exploitation of Yemen’s banking sector.
According to the statement, financial institutions like this bank play a crucial role in enabling the Houthis to access the global financial system, posing a threat to regional stability and international trade.
The U.S. Treasury also reaffirmed its support for the legitimate Yemeni government’s sovereignty over the country’s banking system.
Commenting on the development, economic journalist Wafiq Saleh said that Yemen International Bank placed itself in a precarious financial position from the outset by investing all of its deposits in treasury bills and public debt instruments managed by the central bank in Sana’a, which is under Houthi control.
Saleh noted that this move allowed the Houthi administration to seize the bank’s assets, resulting in a severe liquidity crisis and its inability to meet obligations to depositors and clients.
He added that the bank’s continued financial dealings with the Houthis led to the U.S. Treasury’s sanctions, effectively isolating it from international transactions.
Saleh described the sanctions as a “final blow” to what was once one of Yemen’s largest commercial banks.
He emphasized that keeping bank headquarters in Sana’a exposes financial institutions to the risk of sanctions and international isolation, especially if they continue to follow directives from the Sana’a-based central bank, which is already under international sanctions.
He stressed that these sanctions send a clear message to other banking institutions: they must comply with the internationally recognized central bank in Aden to avoid similar risks.
