April 2 (UPI) — The U.S. Treasury Department Wednesday sanctioned an alleged network of Houthi financial and procurement operatives it said has procured tens of millions of dollars worth of weapons and other goods from Russia.
Sa’id al-Jamal, described by Treasury as a senior Houthi financial official backed by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force, was sanctioned along with his network.
“The Houthis remain reliant on Sa’id al-Jamal and his network to procure critical goods to supply the group’s terrorist war machine,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.
Targeted by the sanctions for assisting Sa’id al-Jamal were Russian-based businessman Hushang Ghairat and his brother Sohrab Ghairat, a Russian-based Afghan businessman.
“This network has procured tens of millions of dollars’ worth of commodities from Russia, including weapons and sensitive goods, as well as stolen Ukrainian grain, for onward shipment to Houthi-controlled Yemen,” Treasury said.
Hong-Kong based company AM Asia M6 Ltd, owner and operator of the AM THESUS vessel, were sanctioned for allegedly shipping goods to the Houthis from Ukraine’s occupied Crimea peninsula.
Russian nationals Yuri Vladimirovich Belyakov and Vyacheslav Vladimirovich Vidanov were sanctioned for serving as AM THESUS captains in 2024.
According to Treasury, Hushang, Sohrab, AM Asia M6 Ltd, Vidanov and Belyakov allegedly “materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, Sa’id al-Jamal.”
The Houthi smuggling network allegedly laundered money and shipped goods to the Houthis in Yemen.
The Treasury Department said the Houthis “have deployed missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, and naval mines to attack commercial shipping interests in the Red Sea, threatening global freedom of navigation and the integrity of international commerce.”
The network sanctioned Wednesday, Treasury said, supported the Red Sea attacks “enabled and incentivized by the support of the Iranian regime.”
The attacks have killed civilians and caused millions of dollars in damage to commercial shipping, according to Treasury.
