The Houthi militias came through on their threat to plunder frozen assets and port revenues from a special account intended to pay the salaries of public servants at the Central Bank of Yemen (CBY) branch in the coastal Hodeidah province.
Away from its agreement with the UN and the legitimate Yemeni government to dispense these assets to pay the salaries of public servants, the Iran-backed militias have funneled what they plundered into their war effort.
In an official statement issued by the Foreign Ministry, the Yemeni government denounced the Houthi violations and accused them of looting the revenues from the import duties of oil derivatives from the special account at the CBY in Hodeidah, which amounts to more than 35 billion Yemeni rials (about $60 million) allocated to pay the salaries of civil servants.
The Foreign Ministry called it a “flagrant violation” of a UN-brokered arrangement to pay civil servant salaries using fees from oil imports at the port of Hodeidah.
It held the Houthis "responsible for thwarting understandings and the subsequent consequences."
It also called on the UN to assume its responsibility as the observer and guarantor to obligate Houthis to submit data on the current status of the special account.
In mid-April, the Houthis announced their intention to withdraw funds from the special account, claiming they would use them to pay each civil servant a quarter of their monthly wages. The Houthis at the time accused the government of reneging on prior agreements to pay the civil servants.
On May 14, UN Special Envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, briefed the UN Security Council in New York about his concerns on the use of the special account.
“My Office has repeatedly requested documentation from Ansar Allah (Houthis) that is needed to verify the special account activity. Indeed, I have written to the leadership to personally reiterate this request,” Griffiths said.
