Ofac goes after Houthi enablers in latest round of sanctions
Individuals and companies based in Oman and China have been targeted
Companies and individuals accused of supplying parts used to make weapons for the Houthis are the target of the latest sanctions by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control
THREE individuals, six companies and one vessel have been added to the US Office of Foreign Assets Control’s Specially Designated Nationals list in a bid to disrupt efforts by Iran-backed rebel group the Houthis to manufacture weapons used to target shipping.
The latest round of Ofac sanctions target Houthi links in Oman and China.
Ali Abd-al-Wahhab Muhammad al-Wazir is said by Ofac to play a “key role” in procuring materials the Houthis need to produce conventional weapons.
His China-based company, Guangzhou Tasneem Trading Co, and its parent company Tasneem Trading Co have both also been added to the sanctioned list.
Fellow Chinese company Ningbo Beilun Saige Machine Co has been sanctioned for allegedly supplying parts for unmanned aerial vehicles to the Houthis, alongside Dongguan Yuze Machining Tools Co, which Ofac said has provided “tens of thousands of dollars worth” of equipment for the group.
Oman-based International Smart Digital Interface Limited Liability Co has been added to the SDN list for purchasing and transferring cruise missile components, Ofac said. Its operator, Muaadh Ahmed Mohammed al-Haifi, has been sanctioned too.
Ofac has also targeted Cameroon-flagged, 2000-built, 105,856 dwt crude tanker Otaria (IMO: 9192260) in its latest raft of sanctions, as well as its United Arab Emirates-based operator Stellar Wave Marine and its Ukrainian captain Vyacheslav Salyga. The US office said Otaria is laden with commodities linked to Houthi financier Sa’id al-Jamal, is set to be discharged in Singapore.
This latest round of sanctions comes after two vessels were badly damaged and one seafarer killed by Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden last week.
“The Houthis’ continued, indiscriminate, and reckless attacks against unarmed commercial vessels are made possible by their access to key components necessary for the production of their missiles and UAVs,” said under secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Brian E. Nelson.
“The United States remains resolved to use the full range of our tools to halt the flow of military-grade materials and funds from commodities sales that enable these destabilising terrorist activities.”
