U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctions International Bank of Yemen and three executives for financial support to the Houthis

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has designated Yemen-based International Bank of Yemen Y.S.C. (IBY) and three senior officials under Executive Order 13224, as amended, for materially supporting Ansarallah, commonly known as the Houthis. The action blocks any of the designated persons’ property and interests in property in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons and generally prohibits U.S.-nexus transactions involving them. IBY, which is based in Sana’a, is described as being controlled by the Houthis and as providing access to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT) network to conduct international transactions, including oil purchases by Houthi-associated businesses and officials. OFAC also cited IBY’s role in facilitating sanctions evasion, mobilizing resources, and supporting the confiscation of opponents’ assets, including by refusing information requests from the Central Bank of Yemen – Aden as banks were encouraged to move operational headquarters to Aden. The designated individuals are Kamal Hussain Al Jebry (Chairman of the Board), Ahmed Thabit Noman Al-Absi (Executive General Manager), and Abdulkader Ali Bazara (Deputy General Manager), and OFAC noted that entities owned 50 percent or more by blocked persons are also blocked; it also flagged potential secondary sanctions risk for certain transactions with the newly designated individuals and possible correspondent or payable-through account restrictions for foreign financial institutions that facilitate significant transactions for a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.