According to Arab News, a recent UN report on Yemen reveals significant insights into the shipping activities linked to the Houthis.
The 537-page report, which covers the period from Sept. 1, 2023, to July 31, 2024, finds that the Houthis have reportedly been collecting large sums from ships as part of an illegal safe-transit fee, Arab News reports. Furthermore, the Houthis have been amassing substantial illegal resources through the organized smuggling of various items such as weapons, drugs, telecommunications equipment, prohibited goods such as banned pesticides, non-permissible medicines, and cultural heritage property.
During the Houthi campaign against ships that the Yemeni militia claimed were in support of the Palestinian people, the Houthis have collected approximately $180 million a month from ships to allow them to sail in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden without being attacked, and a high-ranking Houthi leader facilitated the transfer of the money from the shipping agencies to the militia’s coffers.
… Arab News reported, adding that the Panel has not been able to verify this information independently.
Additionally, the UN Panel’s investigations revealed that Houthi-appointed authorities collected approximately 994 billion Yemeni rials in the name of customs duties on imports of fuel through ports under their control during the period from April 1, 2022, to June 30, 2024, under the exchange rate prevailing in government-controlled areas, Arab News notes.
