U.S. Treasury Sanctions Yemen Bank for Supporting Houthi Attacks in Red Sea

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned the International Bank of Yemen Y.S.C. (IBY) for providing financial support to the Iran-backed Houthi group.

The sanctions, which target both the bank and its key officials, are part of a broader U.S. government strategy to counter Houthi attacks on commercial vessels and restore freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.

“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 Secretary of the Treasury Michael Faulkender stated.

According to Treasury officials, IBY, based in Sana’a, Yemen, has been providing the Houthi group access to the SWIFT network for international financial transactions. The bank has specifically facilitated oil purchases for Houthi-associated businesses and assisted in evading sanctions oversight.

The sanctions follow the January 17, 2025, designation of Yemen Kuwait Bank for Trade and Investment Y.S.C., demonstrating an escalating effort to restrict the Houthis’ access to Yemen’s banking sector.

Three senior IBY officials have been designated in today’s action: Kamal Hussain Al Jebry (Chairman of the Board), Ahmed Thabit Noman Al-Absi (Executive General Manager), and Abdulkader Ali Bazara (Deputy General Manager).

The sanctions come after the U.S. Department of State’s designation of Ansarallah (the Houthis) as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist on February 16, 2024, and its subsequent re-designation as a Foreign Terrorist Organization on March 4, 2025.

Under these sanctions, all U.S.-based assets and properties of the designated persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. The restrictions also apply to entities owned 50 percent or more by blocked persons, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with designated individuals and entities.

IBY has refused to relocate its headquarters from Houthi-controlled territory to Aden, despite efforts by the Central Bank of Yemen – Aden to distance financial institutions from Houthi influence.

The sanctions reflect the Treasury’s ongoing commitment to disrupting financial networks that support attacks on maritime commerce in the Red Sea region, working in coordination with Yemen’s internationally recognized government.

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