International report: Legitimacy government officials loot public funds
English - Sunday 16 February 2020 الساعة 06:10 pm
Aden, Newsymen
United Nations experts confirmed that officials in the Yemeni government embezzle public funds and seize the revenues raised by the governorates of Marib, Mahra and Hadramawt, in the absence of any effective oversight by the Yemen Central Bank in Aden.
The experts said in a report to the Security Council that the team received information from Yemeni officials claiming the illicit enrichment of local leaders from selling natural gas in Marib and collecting customs duties in skilled ports and crossings.
The team monitoring sanctions on Yemen considers corruption a threat to peace and security, as recognized in the 2003 United Nations Convention against Corruption, which Yemen ratified on November 7, 2005.
The team said that it had investigated allegations of corruption related to foreign exchange transactions conducted by the Central Bank of Yemen in late 2018, and it was found that most of the transactions were made by a large difference compared to the rates used by money changers in the market in Sana'a and Aden.
The team obtained banking documents confirming that the Central Bank of Yemen undertook 69 transactions for foreign exchange (15 sales transactions for Saudi riyals, 48 purchases for Saudi riyals and 6 purchases for US dollars) at equivalent prices in US dollars, ranging between 453 and 740 riyals between October 11 and December 28, 2018, incurred a treasury The state lost 20 million and 762 thousand dollars.
The report of the international team indicated that this corruption led to the illicit enrichment of the employees of the Central Bank of Yemen and the officials of the Yemeni government and the unfair enrichment of a few banks and money exchangers in light of these circumstances that involve conflicts of interest.
The United Nations team of experts stressed that this issue proves the necessity for the Yemeni government to conduct an audit of the accounts of the Central Bank of Yemen, the last review was conducted in 2014, and the need for it to strengthen oversight of major financial transactions. Riyadh's agreement included several references to fighting corruption, which confirms the illicit enrichment.
