Yemen Targets Houthi Financing Networks
Yemen’s central bank orders the seizure and freezing of accounts belonging to 135 individuals and entities linked to the Houthis and included on terrorism lists.
Yemen’s central bank on Tuesday ordered the seizure and freezing of accounts belonging to 135 individuals and entities linked to the Houthis and included on terrorism lists. The move forms part of efforts to disrupt the group’s financial networks alongside military operations on several fronts.
According to the government-run Saba news agency, the Central Bank of Yemen, based in Aden, instructed all banks, currency exchange companies and exchange establishments operating in the country to seize and freeze all bank accounts, funds and assets associated with 135 individuals, entities and vessels.
The agency said the measure was based on the prosecutor general’s Decision No. 17 of 2026, dated 19 October 2026, which provides for their inclusion on terrorism lists and the seizure and freezing of their funds because of their links to the Houthi militia, designated as terrorist in the decision.
The instructions also prohibit financial and commercial dealings with those listed and bar the opening of new bank accounts for them, whether directly or indirectly. They further require the immediate identification of their balances, bank accounts, funds and assets.
These requirements also cover any incoming or outgoing transfers involving the individuals named in the prosecutor general’s decision. All related information must be compiled and submitted directly to the Financial Intelligence Unit and the department responsible for combating money laundering and terrorist financing.
According to Saba, the list includes Houthi political, civilian, military and security leaders, as well as traders, businesspeople, one company and five tankers involved in oil smuggling and linked to the group. The agency did not identify any of those listed by name.
The move comes amid a military escalation between government forces and the Houthis on several fronts, particularly in Taiz. Three civilians were killed and eight others wounded on Tuesday in shelling that local authorities attributed to the Houthis. The attacks struck residential neighbourhoods and villages in the southwestern governorate and also targeted an ambulance.
The governorate has witnessed intermittent fighting between government forces and the Houthis for years. Local authorities and human rights organisations also accuse the group of blocking major roads leading to government-held areas.
On 11 October, Yemen’s internationally recognised government announced that it had approved a bill designating the Houthis as a terrorist organisation and criminalising their activities and financing.
These developments come amid a military escalation that began in July 2026 and is described as the largest since the relative calm that followed the truce introduced in April 2022.
Yemen has been at war since the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, and several governorates in September 2014. In March 2015, a Saudi-led Arab coalition intervened in support of Yemen’s internationally recognised government.
