Moammar al-Eryani, Information Minister of the internationally recognized Yemeni government, has accused the Houthi rebels - who established a separate regime in northern Yemen - of seizing approximately $103 billion since their coup against the legitimate government.
According to al-Eryani, the stolen funds are being used to finance the ongoing war, including attacks on international shipping routes in the Red Sea, rather than being invested in public services or used to pay salaries for government employees. Meanwhile, the Yemeni population continues to suffer from a severe economic crisis.
He stressed that a parallel economy controlled by the Houthis enables them to prolong the conflict, destabilize the region, and escalate terrorist activity, particularly through strikes on strategic maritime routes. The militia’s illicit economic practices, he said, have driven widespread poverty, eroded purchasing power, pushed up the cost of food and medicine, worsened public services, and deepened what is already one of the world’s most dire humanitarian crises.
The minister further asserted that this parallel economy serves Iran’s broader expansionist goals, aimed at dominating strategic waterways and threatening both regional and global security.
Al-Eryani called on the international community and counter-terror finance organizations to take practical measures to cut off the militia’s funding channels and impose sanctions on those involved in resource theft and money laundering.