The Houthi militias exercise effective control over the collection, use and management of Zakat, including to fund their war efforts and military operations, which deprives the local authorities of this source of revenue. The report of the UN Panel of Experts on Yemen (Sanctions Committee) revealed.
The report submitted to the UN Security Council last February confirmed that the militias obtain large financial resources by imposing Zakat on many new activities, estimated at YR25 billion per year.
Zakat was administered for years at the level of local authorities, but the Houthis took a more centralized approach in this regard and the so-called "Supreme Political Council" issued a decision in 2018 to establish the General Authority for Zakat.
The UN report indicated that almost every individual and entity in Yemen pays Zakat during the month of Ramadan, which amounts to about YR250 million.
During the month of Ramadan, the Houthis deploy their representatives to collect Zakat from shopkeepers, merchants, and commercial entities. However, the use of Zakat was shrouded in a great deal of ambiguity, as the Houthi-run "General Authority for Zakat" claims that Zakat funds are used for various humanitarian activities, but it appears that some of these activities are related to financing the "war effort". The report said.
The report stated that on November 27, 2022, the "General Authority for Zakat" announced that it had launched a project to distribute cash gifts to the wounded and people with disabilities due to the war in Sana'a and the governorates under the control of the Houthis at a cost of YR292 million, explaining that this project is being implemented under the directives of the leader of the Houthis, Abdul Malik Al-Houthi and the head of the Supreme Political Council, Mahdi Al-Mashat.
The report did not fail to point out that in June 2020 the Houthis imposed a fifth tax (one-fifth or 20%) on many economic activities, including the mineral, oil, water and fishing sectors. Among the beneficiaries of this new tax are the Houthi family and many Houthi loyalists.
The investigations conducted by the UN team revealed the sources of financing the Houthis, which include customs duties, taxes, non-tax revenues, Zakat, confiscation of land and property, collection of funds from black market fuel operations, illegal fees derived from fuel imports, local trade and other commercial activities, confiscation of bank deposits, and funding from foreign sources.
