US imposes sanctions on Chinese and Omani companies for supplying Houthis

The United States has imposed sanctions on individuals and legal entities from China and Oman suspected of supplying weapons to the Houthis, the press service of the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control reported.

“This action targets key actors who have enabled the Houthis to generate revenue and acquire a range of materials to produce the sophisticated weapons they are now using to carry out ongoing terrorist attacks on commercial shipping,” the US Treasury Department explained the introduction of the restrictions.

As a result, the following were subject to American sanctions :

• Ali Abd al-Wahhab Muhammad al-Wazir and his company, Guangzhou Tasneem Trading Company Limited. The company is based in China and, according to US authorities, has been buying weapons for the Houthis and sending them to Yemen;
• Hong Kong-based Tasneem Trading Company Limited, the parent company of Guangzhou Tasneem;
• Omani company International Smart Digital Interface and its operator Muaz Ahmed Mohammed al-Haifi. His company “acquired and facilitated the delivery of cruise missile components, manufacturing equipment and other dual-use materials to Yemen”;
• Chinese firm Ningbo Beilun Saige Machine Co., Ltd, which was engaged in the procurement of materials needed for the production of drones and other weapons;
• China's Dongguan Yuze Machining Tools Company Limited, which helped the Houthis with equipment for their own weapons production.

In addition, restrictions have been imposed on the Cameroon-flagged OTARIA, operated by UAE-based Stellar Wave Marine LL, and its captain, Vyacheslav Salyga, which was loaded with goods linked to Houthi financier Saeed al-Jamal for delivery to Singapore in late May 2024 .

In January of this year, the US and UK added the Houthis themselves to the sanctions list. The restrictions also targeted Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi and military leaders of the Yemeni movement.

The US Treasury Department noted that the sanctioned “key figures” of Yemen’s Houthi rebel movement Ansar Allah supported recent attacks on ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, including the hostage-taking of civilian crews. Those on the sanctions list will have their assets frozen in the US, and American citizens and companies will be prohibited from doing business with them .