Yemen Monitor / Sana’a / Special
A number of citizens have complained about what they described as “manipulation” by the Houthis in the process of exchanging damaged 100 Yemeni Rial paper notes for the coin currency announced by the group in their controlled areas on Sunday.
Citizens expressed their frustration with the Houthi’s refusal to exchange the notes and their insistence on the presence of the serial number on the paper, which does not inherently make them damaged in the first place.
One citizen in a video shared on social media said: “He went to one of the branches specified by the Sanaa bank affiliated with the group to exchange about 40,000 damaged 100 riyal notes, but he was surprised to receive only about 5,000 in return, under the pretext of the lack of a serial number.”
Banking expert Ali Al-Tawiti commented on the incident saying: “You ask for a serial number for 12 billion damaged notes and expect the people to bear it, how can you control… If there was a serial number, there wouldn’t be a need for printing.”
On Saturday, Sanaa bank affiliated with the Houthis announced issuing a 100 Rial coin as part of what they called addressing the issue of damaged currency. The Yemeni Central Bank in Aden considered that a dangerous and illegal escalation, warning against its circulation.
Economic analysts and experts believe that the Houthi’s actions will deepen economic divisions in the country and move towards building a fully independent economy
