April 18 (UPI) — The United States is sanctioning the International Bank of Yemen over its support of the Houthi Rebels, according to the Trump administration, which also accused a Chinese satellite company of aiding the designated terrorist organization with its maritime blockade.
The sanctions against the bank and three of its executives were announced by the U.S. Treasury and State Department on Thursday on accusations of financially supporting the Houthi rebels.
Treasury officials accuse the bank of being controlled by the heavily sanctioned Iran-proxy militia and of providing it access to its Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications network, better known as SWIFT, to make international financial transactions.
The bank’s chair of the board of directors, Kamal Hussain Al Jebry, 61; its executive general manager, Ahmed Thabit Noman Al-Absi, 69; and its deputy general manager, Abdulkader Ali Bazara, 72, were also sanctioned.
“Financial institutions like IBY are critical to the Houthis’ efforts to access the international financial system and threaten both the region and international commerce,” Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender said in a statement.
“Treasury remains committed to working with the internationally recognized government of Yemen to disrupt the Houthis’ ability to secure funds and procure key components for their destabilizing attacks.”
Since November 2023, the Houthis have enforced a maritime blockade of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, attacking vessels, including U.S. military ships, that transit the important trade route. They state the blockade is in solidarity with the Palestinian people of Gaza, of whom more than 51,000 have been killed amid Israel’s war against Hamas, another Iran-proxy militia, which began on Oct. 7, 2023.
State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters during a press conference Thursday that Chang Guang Satellite Technology has been supporting the Houthis’ attacks on “U.S. interests.”
“Their actions, and Beijing’s support of the company, even after our private engagements with them, is yet another example of China’s empty claims to support peace,” she said.
“We urge our partners to judge the Chinese Communist Party and Chinese companies on their actions, not their empty words.”
She added that the Trump administration will not “tolerate anyone providing support to foreign terrorist organizations, such as the Houthis.”
UPI has asked Chang Guang Satellite Technology for comment.
