On March 5, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated seven high-ranking member of Ansarallah, commonly known as the Houthis, for allegedly smuggling military-grade items and weapons into Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. According to OFAC, the sanctioned individuals also procured weapons from Russia. The designees include Houthi spokesperson Mohammad Abdulsalam who allegedly plays a critical role in managing the Houthis’ internal and external financing network and has worked to secure weapons and other support from Russia.
OFAC also designated Houthi militant operative Abdulwali Abdoh Hasan Al-Jabri and his company Al-Jabri General Trading and Investment Co. for their roles in facilitating the transfer Yemeni civilians to Russia to fight in Ukraine in exchange for cash – an operation that has allegedly established a new source of revenues on behalf of Houthi leaders. According to OFAC, Al-Jabri operation is essentially a lucrative human smuggling venture that largely recruits Yemeni civilians to fight for Russia under false and misleading pretenses.
These 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 persons 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.
On March 4, 2025, the Department of State also designated Ansarallah as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (“FTO”). In response, OFAC published Frequently Asked Question 1219 on March 5, 2025, to provide an overview of actions taken by OFAC following the FTO designation. These actions include updates to three general licenses (“GLs”) issued under Global Terrorism Sanctions Regulations (“GTSR”) and Foreign Terrorist Organizations Sanctions Regulations (“FTOSR”), 31 CFR part 597, to authorize transactions involving Ansarallah that relate to the provision of agricultural commodities, medicine, medical devices, replacement parts and components, or software updates (GL 22A); the provision of noncommercial and personal remittances (GL 24A); and third-country diplomatic missions (GL 28A).
OFAC also amended three Ansarallah-related GLs in order to exclude refined petroleum products from goods that can be imported or exported through ports and airports in Yemen (GL 26A) and to limit previous authorizations for transactions related to telecommunications, mail, and certain internet-based communications involving Ansarallah (GL 23A). In addition, OFAC temporarily authorized the delivery and offloading of refined petroleum products involving Ansarallah that are for personal, commercial, or humanitarian use in Yemen (GL 25A). These deliveries are only permitted until April 4, 2025, as long as the refined petroleum products were loaded onto a vessel before March 5, 2025.
U.S. Department of Treasury Press Release | U.S. Department of State Press Release