On April 2, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned a network of individuals and entities, including vessels, that have provided Ansarallah (commonly known as “the Houthis”) with financial support and/or were involved in the procurement of tens of millions of dollars’ worth of commodities from Russia, including weapons and sensitive goods. According to OFAC, some of the designees also helped the Houthis obtain stolen Ukrainian grain, which was shipped to Houthi-controlled Yemen. The U.S. Department of State designated the Houthis as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (“SDGT”) in February 2024.
According to OFAC, the newly-designated network operates in coordination with senior Houthi financial official Sa’id al-Jamal, who is backed by the Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (“IRGC-QF”). OFAC designated the IRGC-QF in 2007 and al-Jamal in 2024. Al-Jamal and his network reportedly use their funds and procurements to support Houthi destabilizing activities in the Red Sea, where the group has indiscriminately deployed missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles (“UAVs”), and naval mines to attack commercial shipping vessels – actions that have resulted in the deaths of innocent civilians and millions of dollars in damage to commercial shipping operators.
All of the designations were imposed pursuant to Executive Order 13224, as amended, which targets terrorist groups and their supporters. As a result of these designations, all property and interests in property of the designated person within the United States or within the possession or control of a U.S. person are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions involving a designated person. Entities owned 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked.