Houthis Build $2 Billion Finance Network Despite US Sanctions as Red Sea Gains Deepen Leverage
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Sep 14
Houthis Build $2 Billion Finance Network Despite US Sanctions as Red Sea Gains Deepen Leverage
1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Sep 14
Summary
Treasury estimates the Houthis generate more than $2 billion a year from oil sales, customs, taxes and port fees, giving the group a sanctions-adapted revenue base as it pushes toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
That network runs through Houthi-controlled ports, Iranian oil, hawala channels, crypto wallets and foreign facilitators; U.S.-identified wallets tied to financier Sa’id al-Jamal showed nearly $900 million in outflows.
Russia has become a more active node, with reports of targeting support and petroleum transfers, while Chinese-linked actors appear in refining, satellite imagery and drone-component supply chains without clear proof of direct state financing control.
Washington’s problem is that the Houthis earn much of their money inside Yemen, so sanctions can hit tankers, exchange houses and foreign correspondents more easily than domestic extraction and taxation.
The broader dilemma is humanitarian: the Houthis control ports and infrastructure that civilians rely on, forcing the U.S. to try to keep food and fuel moving while stripping away the taxes and fees funding the group.