A report reveals the names of Yemeni banks and companies involved in smuggling Iranian oil
English - Sunday 21 November 2021 الساعة 06:36 pm
Aden, NewsYemen:
The "Regain Yemen" recovery initiative revealed, in a new report, the involvement of Yemeni commercial companies with local banks and exchange companies to smuggle Iranian oil and money laundering in favor of financing the Houthis in their war against the Yemeni people, with unlimited Iranian support.
The 53-page report stated that the Houthis worked to exclude Yemeni businessmen and escalated others belonging to them, and to establish oil companies, with the aim of circumventing international and US sanctions, as well as to feed their treasury and finance their wars to prolong the conflict in the country.
He stated that about 30 companies are used by the Houthis as a front for importing Iranian oil, some of which operate in the liberated areas.
And he indicated that these companies work with intermediary companies, in return for the latter receiving large price differences between the purchase price and the selling price at the stations.
He pointed out that the intermediary companies were registered in the names of Houthi leaders of the second and third ranks as new businessmen, and bank accounts were opened for them in the commercial banks under their control, after they disrupted the role of the Anti-Money Laundering Department in the Central Bank and ignored the investigation of the funds of the owners of these companies, and the field business, and a source of capital.
The report revealed that the most prominent of these intermediary companies are Star Plus and Black Diamond, which are owned by Salah Felita, brother of the official spokesman for the Houthi group, Muhammad Abdul Salam, and that the Black Diamond Company is affiliated with a number of other companies, including “Zaracon Company for Import and Trade Center, and Top Food Company.” and Good Hyper Commercial Company, for which accounts were opened in banks to conduct business without investigation or auditing according to international standards for banks, which the report spoke of possessing confidential information and documents confirming this.
He stated that the Bank of Yemen and Kuwait, which is the most involved bank in the process of importing Iranian oil derivatives, was involved in smuggling the militia's money to the Lebanese Hezbollah, after documents proved transfers from the same bank abroad without the arrival of oil derivatives in most cases.
In addition, the Bank of Yemen and Kuwait, the Shamil Bank of Bahrain, and the Yemen International Bank provided great facilities to the Houthis, by creating bank accounts and fake checks, and then transferring the balance to the Houthi leader Ibrahim Mutahar al-Moayad, the financial director of the Houthi group and head of the Finance Department of the Houthi Ministry of Defense. , in the Bank of Yemen and Kuwait, a move aimed at concealing the source of checks and accounts that are considered governmental and were withdrawn with overdrawn balances with the Central Bank of Yemen, which is controlled by the Houthi group.
The facilities provided by the Bank of Yemen and Kuwait were in the name of Black Diamond Company, which also transferred funds to more than one company, including Al-Sharafi Oil Derivatives Trading Company, according to the report.
In addition to the commercial banks, the Sweden Exchange Company and CAC Bank, which is under the control of the Houthis, work for these companies, and they head to the exchange market, and engage in speculation in the currency market on behalf of the militia, taking advantage of the time difference between receiving amounts from retailers in riyals and delivering them in dollars to dealers. Import, at the same time that the militia's money changers benefit in the currency market.
The report included a black list containing the names of Houthi authorities and leaders, commercial companies and banks involved in supplying the Houthis with oil trade and money laundering, in addition to a set of information and details of the black market and how it is managed by the Houthis.
Recommendations
In its recommendations, "Regain Yemen" called for not granting any fuel shipments imported through the companies mentioned in the report, entry licenses to the ports of the Republic of Yemen, and to adopt government conditions to qualify companies wishing to import fuel to Houthi areas, as well as to approve the ports of legitimate areas to import oil derivatives to Yemen. in liberated areas.
It also called on all commercial banks, financial companies and exchange companies to check all documents of companies importing oil derivatives in order not to be exposed to local, regional and international sanctions.
The report recommended that the international community and the relevant and competent authorities tighten control and examination procedures for the documents of oil ships, as well as the quality of derivatives and their conformity with specifications, and to know the sources of those shipments in accordance with international resolutions to limit Iran’s supply of the Houthi militia with derivatives that the militias use as a main source of financing its war on Yemen and the Yemeni people.
He called on the legitimate government and the Arab coalition to publish information and data of companies importing oil derivatives to Yemen for public opinion and to implement the principle of transparency, integrity and freedom of information.
The recommendations stressed the importance of international organizations providing data and information on humanitarian aid to Yemen, especially to Houthi-controlled areas, so that it would not be used militarily and financing the war for the Houthi militia. And it appealed to the international and local community to issue a blacklist of all those proven to be involved in financing the Houthi militias with oil and imposing sanctions on them or those who provide any facilities to do so.
