Yemen: Houthis confess looting state lands and institutions

Official documents issued by the Central Organization for Control and Accountability, which is controlled by the Houthis, revealed that ministries, institutions and funds in their areas of control were subjected to widespread looting by supervisors and leaders of the militia, which led to the weakening of their performance and their inability to achieve their goals in serving the citizens.

A number of documents, obtained Yemen Details, indicate that the lands owned by the "General Corporation for Real Estate Development and Investment" (Shibam Company), the investment arm of the government, were attacked and illegally acquired by influential figures in the Houthi group in the governorates of Taiz and Dhamar.

The Houthi looting caused the weakness of Shibam and its inability to achieve its goals for which it was established, which is to achieve real estate and investment development, and the weakness of the institution's ability to develop its resources to cover its expenses and its dependence on the support provided by the Ministry of Finance to cover 86% of its expenses.

The documents showed part of the rampant corruption in ministries and institutions in Houthi-controlled areas, which is represented in looting public money and seizing revenues for the benefit of the officials and supervisors of the militia loyal to Iran, while Yemenis are deprived of their economic and social rights, the most important of which are salaries and services.

The documents show that a large part of the resources of the Cleaning and Improvement Fund in Dhamar Governorate was wasted for the years 2019 and 2020, with a total of about YR635.5 million looted, representing 47% of the fund's total expenditures, which affects the fund's ability to carry out its tasks.

In the same context, the report for the month of March 2022 showed that one of the militia leaders had robbed and seized the land owned by the branch of the Public Water Corporation in the Al-Zaher area in Al-Mahwit Governorate, which is in recognition of the Houthi corruption and looting of state and citizen lands.