Chief of Investigations and Inquiries at the National Anti-Corruption Authority in Sanaa, Judge Mohammed Mohammed Al-Shuaibi, acknowledged that the authority's investigations, run by the Iran-backed Houthis, have found that illicit financial flows resulting from financial corruption crimes could reach billions of Yemeni riyals and millions of dollars annually.
In a limited circulation document, Al-Shuaibi stated that these financial flows often pass through financial institutions, such as misappropriation of public funds through bank accounts by transferring them from one account to another, with the knowledge of the institution about the legality or illegality of those funds, thus becoming an accomplice in the commission of the crime of corruption (money laundering).
Al-Shuaibi explained that corruption crimes committed in Houthi-controlled areas, which have spread since the invasion of Sanaa and several provinces in September 2014, include crimes of illicit enrichment, exploitation of public office for personal gain, money laundering crimes, fraud and manipulation in bids, tenders, specifications, and government contracts, customs smuggling and tax evasion, forgery and counterfeiting crimes, in addition to crimes that harm the national economy, crimes that harm public office, crimes that obstruct the course of justice, embezzlement of private sector properties, bribery of foreign employees and employees of international public institutions to perform or refrain from performing their duties and functions in violation of their obligations, and to obtain an undeserved commercial benefit or advantage, or to retain it when it relates to the conduct of international business affairs.
According to the document, the financial institutions involved in these crimes include banks, exchange companies and establishments, insurance companies, money transfer networks, microfinance institutions, financial brokerage companies, mobile phone payment system companies, electronic wallets, real estate finance companies, and credit card companies.
Since their coup against the legitimate authority, the Houthis have established their own financial network, which includes hundreds of exchange companies, money transfer networks, mobile phone payment system companies, and electronic wallets.
They have also engaged in money laundering operations through the purchase of land and real estate and the establishment of private investment projects such as universities, schools, hospitals, companies, and fuel stations.
The document pointed out that one manifestation of the corruption relationship with financial institutions is the institutions' failure to fulfill their legal obligations and banking instructions that they should have adhered to. According to the Corruption Perceptions Index for 2022 issued by Transparency International, Yemen scored only 16 out of 100 points, ranking 176 out of 180 countries in the world.
