The U.S. Treasury under Secretary Scott Bessent sanctioned two people and five companies on Tuesday on accusations of being a Houthi petroleum smuggling network. File Photo by Yuri Gripas/UPI | License Photo
July 23 (UPI) -- The United States has blacklisted two Yemeni nationals and five companies on accusations of laundering money and importing petroleum products for the Houthi rebels.
The Houthis, also known as Ansarallah, work with privately owned companies to ensure continued shipments of petroleum products into areas of Yemen under their control. On Tuesday, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned Muhammad Al-Sunaydar, 38, and three companies his connected to, as well as Yahya Mohammed Al Wazir, 44, and two of his companies, for facilitating those petroleum product transactions.
"The Houthis collaborate with opportunistic businessmen to reap enormous profits from the importation of petroleum products and to enable the group's access to the international financial system," Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Michael Faulkender said in a statement.
"These networks of shady businesses underpin the Houthis' terrorist machine, and Treasury will use all tools at its disposal to disrupt these schemes."
