The US on 17 October introduced new sanctions on 18 companies, individuals, and ships involved in a trade network that it says funds Yemen’s Houthi movement. At the head of the network is Sa’id al-Jamal, an Iran-based Houthi financier who arranges the sale of commodities, including oil, to fund the group’s operations. US sanctions against Mr Jamal date back to 2021, but the most recent sanctions clamp down further on the illicit oil trade he oversees.
The new sanctions target five companies: two registered in the Marshall Islands and three based in the UAE. Under these companies eight vessels are also sanctioned for their part in transferring Iranian crude and oil products in the Houthi-run network. This includes the Kapok, which the US says “transported over a million barrels of crude oil, worth tens of millions of dollars, on behalf of al-Jamal and sanctioned Türkiye-based, Houthi-associated businessman Abdi Nasir Ali Mahamud.” Kpler shows the tanker delivering 1mn b/d of Iranian crude to China in November 2023. (CONTINUED - 333 WORDS)
