The US Treasury imposes sanctions on Houthi arms purchasing networks in Hong Kong and Yemen

On Wednesday, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on four companies and two individuals, which it said were part of Houthi weapons purchasing networks in Hong Kong and Yemen.

In a statement, the Treasury Department said the targets of the sanctions “directly supported Houthi efforts to purchase military materials from abroad and ship these items to Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, enabling the group to continue its attacks.”

The companies imposed today include Al-Shahari United Company Limited, Guangzhou Al-Shahari United Company Limited, Hong Kong Al-Shahari United Company Limited, and Yemeni Communications Assets Company for Information Technology.

The two individuals are: “Maher Yahya Muhammad Mutahhar Al-Kina’i and Ahmed Khaled Yahya Al-Shahari.”

The Treasury Department described Al-Kinai as a Yemeni businessman who "supports the Houthi efforts in military procurement and smuggling."

Mr. Al-Shahari is the Director and General Manager of Guangzhou Al-Shahari Company.

“The Houthis have sought to exploit key regions such as the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong in order to obtain and transfer components for their lethal weapons systems,” Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said in a statement.

He added that the Treasury "will continue to target facilitators who allow the Houthis to carry out their destabilizing activities."

The US Treasury Department said that the Houthis rely on a global procurement network to supply them with weapons that they have used since November 2023 “to attack US military forces, commercial ships, their crews, and the civilian population of Israel.”

The US Treasury Department said that Al-Shahari United Company is a logistics company based in Sanaa, Yemen, that works to facilitate the smuggling of arms shipments.

Guangzhou Al-Shahari, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hong Kong Al-Shahari, allegedly helped facilitate shipments from China to Yemen.

Al-Shahari manages and directs Guangzhou Al-Shahari Company.

On July 18, he announced the imposition of new sanctions on the Houthis, targeting two individuals, three companies, and several ships accused of collecting tens of millions of dollars for the Houthis.

The Houthis have attacked more than 50 commercial ships passing through the Red Sea since last November 19.

On June 17, the Biden administration also imposed sanctions on Houthi procurement and revenue-generating networks, many of which are based in China.

The sanctions come as part of efforts to confront Houthi attacks on commercial navigation in the Red Sea.