Washington sanctions Houthi-linked network of oil companies

The US government has sanctioned a network of individuals and companies for allegedly importing petroleum products into Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen.

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The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions on a network of entities located across Yemen and the UAE, it said.

These companies are allegedly among the “most significant importers of petroleum products and money launderers that benefit the Houthis,” it added.

The department has claimed that the Houthis influence the selling price of oil and petroleum products in Yemeni areas under their control, typically at a significant markup. 

“The Iran-backed Houthis gain hundreds of millions of dollars annually by working with Yemeni businessmen to tax petroleum imports, generating critical revenue that funds the Houthis’ destabilizing activities in the region,” the treasury department added.

OFAC has sanctioned an individual named Muhammad Al-Sunaydar, who manages a network of oil companies in Yemen and the UAE. The department has also sanctioned Arkan Mars Petroleum Company and its UAE-based affiliates, managed by Al-Sunaydar.

According to the OFAC, Arkan Mars has an agreement with the Houthis to import gas and oil, including sanctioned Iranian petroleum products, through the Hudaydah and Ras Isa ports in Yemen.

The US treasury department further claims that this network has coordinated the delivery of $12 million worth of sanctioned Iranian oil to the Houthis.

The move reinforces the Donald Trump-led US administration’s commitment to tightening sanctions on Iran and its regional proxies.

By Aparupa Mazumder

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