Report: Houthis loot around $13.5 billion from aid

A new report by the Yemen Regain revealed that the Iran-backed Houthis have seized about three-quarters of the aid that flowed into Yemen during the years of war.

The report, titled "Aid as a Means of Recruiting and Enriching the Houthis", stated that approximately $13.5 billion in aid was diverted to areas under Houthi control, where looting occurred at rates exceeding 80 percent, with only scraps reaching the actual beneficiaries.

The report also stated that the Houthis use various destructive methods to hinder humanitarian relief efforts in Yemen, exploiting the humanitarian crisis to achieve political and economic gains.

According to the report, the Houthis loot humanitarian aid through the Supreme Council for the Management and Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and International Cooperation (SCMCHA) and hundreds of local organizations affiliated with the militias.

The report outlined the methods and tactics used by the militias to loot and control aid, such as identifying beneficiaries lists, issuing permits for any movements by relief organizations, and designating local entities as contractors, local implementing partners, or third-party monitors for humanitarian projects.

The report stated that the Houthis do not use control of humanitarian aid solely to redirect it to families of their killed or wounded members, but also as a form of punishment, removing names from beneficiary lists deemed unsupportive regardless of their needs.

The Houthis have used their influence over aid agencies to bolster their economically draining war against the Yemeni government, exacerbating the dire poverty affecting all regions of the country.

Additionally, the Houthis delegate many humanitarian activities on the ground to their local partners, whether as supplying companies or implementing NGOs, providing a window for the Houthis to control local organizations and imposing them on international organizations to ensure the looting and control of aid distribution.

The report further stated that the Houthis deliberately tarnish organizations "in an attempt to blackmail them and force them to establish tenders for the supply of medicines and medical supplies for the benefit of Houthi-affiliated companies."

"The Houthis sell a significant portion of health aid, medicines, and medical supplies in the market to pharmacies, drug traders, and suppliers of goods". The report said.