The US Treasury Department has imposed new sanctions on several prominent companies in the United Arab Emirates for allegedly supporting the Houthi group in Yemen. According to the statement, these Emirati companies are accused of smuggling oil and weapons and providing funding to armed groups.

The official statement from the US Treasury Department clarified that most of the Emirati companies implicated in these cases are fronts for well-known businesses, and most are legally registered in the UAE.

The US Treasury Department, through its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), also announced a new round of sanctions targeting 21 individuals and entities, as well as one vessel, in what it described as a continuation of efforts to dismantle the Houthi group’s financial and logistical infrastructure.

This latest move comes as part of a broader effort to tighten the noose on what the Treasury termed “extensive smuggling and revenue-generating networks” that the group relies on to finance its military operations and carry out activities that threaten regional stability, including targeting international shipping lanes in the Red Sea.

For his part, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bisnett affirmed that the Houthis pose a direct threat to the United States and the international community by carrying out terrorist attacks and targeting commercial vessels transiting the Red Sea. He emphasized that the US is committed to pursuing and cutting off the group’s funding sources.

Companies Operating as Front Companies in the UAE

According to the Treasury Department, several of the entities listed under the sanctions operate under the guise of commercial and oil companies registered in the UAE and are used to conceal oil smuggling and money laundering operations on behalf of the Houthis. Among the most prominent of these entities are:

Adeema Oil FZC: An oil company registered in the UAE, owned by Waleed Al-Baidani, suspected of being used in oil smuggling operations.

Alsaa Petroleum and Shipping FZC: A UAE-based oil shipping and transportation company owned by Omran Asghar.

New Ocean Trading FZE: A trading company operating as a front within an illegal financing network.

Janat Al Anwar General Trading LLC: A general trading company used as a cover for financial activities linked to the Houthis.

Arkan Mars Petroleum DMCC: A Dubai-based company operating within the DMCC zone, linked to the management and ownership of networks of shell oil companies.

Rabya for Trading FZC: A trading company involved in smuggling weapons and equipment.

Wadi Kabir Co. for Logistics Services: A logistics services company used to facilitate the transport of prohibited military shipments.

The sanctions also targeted Al Sharafi Oil Companies Services, a Yemeni oil entity that the US Treasury Department said was used to facilitate oil sales and provide revenue streams for the group.

The Treasury Department concluded its statement by asserting that these entities played a key role in circumventing international sanctions by exploiting commercial structures and shell companies to conceal the true flow of funds and goods.