Saudi Arabia sends two billion dollars to Yemen’s Central Bank

The King of Saudi Arabia, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, ordered the transfer of $2 billion to Yemen’s Central Bank yesterday, Reuters reported.

The Yemeni currency has plummeted at a drastic rate since the escalation of the Yemen civil war in March 2015. The currency currently stands at 500 Yemeni Riyals to a single dollar.

The transfer was made after internationally recognised President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi complained to Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman about the economic deterioration.

The Houthi armed group’s official spokesperson, Mohammed Abdel Salem, blamed the falling currency on the Saudi-led coalition’s “aggression” in Yemen.

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“They [Saudi Arabia] imposed a total siege on the Yemeni people, transferred the Central Bank from Sana’a, blocked the arrival of cash to Yemen, imposed a guardianship over most of Yemen’s ports and completely destroyed the infrastructure”, he said.

Two years ago in April it was reported that the Houthis broke into the headquarters of the Central Bank in the capital and stole $107 million.

Yemen has witnessed frequent bank robberies in the past year, particularly in southern Yemen. Last year in July a uniformed armed group of 10 assailants raided the National Bank of Yemen.

Since March 2015 Saudi Arabia has been leading a coalition of Arab states since that were invited by Hadi to neutralise threats posed by the Houthis in central Yemen.

The Houthis took control of the capital Sana’a in late 2014, and also control the strategic Red Sea port of Hudaydah which directly impacts imports to the country.