US sanctions senior Houthi leader over Yemen extortion campaign

The US government on Thursday sanctioned a senior Houthi military officer accused of helping confiscate more than $100 million worth of property in war-torn Yemen through extortion and other illegal tactics. 

Saleh Mesfer Alshaer, who commands the Houthi-controlled military logistics support organization, is considered the “judicial custodian” of assets seized from opponents of the Iran-aligned movement. In a statement announcing his designation, the US Treasury Department describes Alshaer as a close ally of Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi. 

In addition to extorting Yemeni citizens and detaining those who don’t comply, Alshaer has unlawfully forced banks and other businesses to perform withdrawals and identification of customer assets, the department said. The Houthi-controlled National Security Bureau has allegedly detained those who defied Alshaer and falsely branded them as spies. 

The Treasury also accused Alshaer of confiscating revenues from projects funded by international organizations inside Yemen, as well as overseeing the diversion and seizure of funds from 35 Yemeni parliamentarians. The department accused his cronies of appropriating revenues from multiple hospitals in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa.