Throughout the war on Yemen, questions were raised about the corruption of the internationally recognized political class, and the source of the wealth of the officials of the so-called “legitimacy” such as ministers, directors, agents, senior officers, military leaders, party and tribal leaders, leaders of security services, clerics, political activists and the media. It seemed suspicious that these people were able to accumulate wealth, build investment institutions, hotels, and tourist resorts, and own commercial and banking investments and multi-purpose companies in the Gulf and other capitals within a short period, knowing that most of them were benefactors who joined the Gulf states, whether participating in the “alliance” or outside it ( Qatar and Oman).
These personalities are in contact with the countries of the “coalition” (Saudi Arabia and the UAE), which secure for them the peace and stability outside the country, benefiting from the country’s wealth and building palaces, in return for covering the continuation and borrowing of the war, and providing it with an international and local umbrella.
Those familiar with the Yemeni situation believe that the presence of the two sponsors increases the corruption of the various Anti-Houthi political, military, and security leaders supported by both countries in
northern and southern Yemen. Yesterday, Reuters news agency said that it had seen a United Nations report revealing that the Central Bank of Yemen (its current headquarters is in Aden) violated the rules of currency exchange, manipulated the currency market, and laundered a large part of the Saudi deposit with a complex money-laundering scheme, and generated about 423 profits for traders. Million dollars.
In the report, this amount is public funds that were illegally transferred to private institutions, while the documents submitted by the Central Bank did not explain the reason for adopting such a destructive strategy. Observers said that they see this as an act of money laundering and corruption committed by government institutions, in this case the Central Bank and the government in collusion with businessmen and political figures in important positions, for the benefit of a group of merchants and businessmen enjoying special privileges.
The annual report of the United Nations Sanctions Panel of Experts on Yemen accused the so-called "legitimate government" of money laundering and corruption, which negatively affects the arrival of sufficient food supplies.
The reality of the situation is that the war, as it caused more poverty, hunger and death, also represented an opportunity for hundreds of political and military leaders affiliated with the so-called “legitimacy” who take abroad as a safe place for their investments, so they turned to establishing commercial, industrial and investment companies in a number of Arab and foreign countries, provided that real estate trade It is the most popular, especially in Egypt, Jordan, Sudan, Turkey, Malaysia, and even China.
The UAE also hosts officials of the Southern Transitional Council, but it prevents them from transferring funds outside the Emirates. Although Cairo and Istanbul are the distinguished destination for officials' investment (the first being the preferred center for real estate trade), statistics estimate that Yemenis have bought more than 20,000 properties, including palaces, villas, houses and apartments.
According to the official data of the Turkish Statistics Authority, Yemenis bought 231 homes in Turkey in 2015, 192 in 2016, 390 in 2017, 851 in 2018, 1,082 in the first nine months of 2019, and 3000 in 2020. Turkish official data does not stop at buying Homes and real estate, but rather add to its regulations commercial establishments that, according to official data, witnessed in 2017, the establishment of 44 companies with Yemeni capital, and 79 in 2018, and in the first seven months of 2019 the number reached 41, so that Yemenis established 164 companies in Turkey during the last two and a half years.
Corruption does not depend on the political class and the elite. Rather, it affects the so-called “national army,” which is calculated on the so-called legitimacy, and according to official statistics, its number is 400,000 officers and soldiers. However, various military sources say that the mentioned number is greatly exaggerated, and is being exaggerated on the military payrolls of non-existent soldiers, in the interest of senior military leaders. These officers have strong incentives to grossly exaggerate the number of soldiers under their command as a result of the bonus they receive from overpaid, in addition to the bonuses accruing to those who command larger forces.
It is also believed that officials are complicit in this scheme. The Minister of Defense in the "legitimate government", Muhammad Ali al-Maqdashi, admitted, after the failure of his forces in Marib last year, to the rampant corruption in his army, and said that those fighting on the fronts do not exceed 30% of the official statements from The army, and the rest are fictitious names or soldiers who do not join the fronts.
In both cases, political parties and tribal leaders receive their salaries. In addition to salaries, senior commanders receive material support from the coalition (weapons, ammunition, fuel, vehicles, and other equipment) based on the number of soldiers they claim to be under their control.
Amplify their payroll results in not only additional salary payments, but additional support from what can then be sold.
