Taiz Security Committee tightens procedures to prevent foreign currencies from leaving to Houthi-controlled areas

Yemen Monitor/Newsroom

The Security Committee in Taiz Governorate (southwestern Yemen) stressed on Saturday the need to take all security and precautionary measures and implement directives to prevent the exit of foreign currency to Houthi-controlled areas.

This came during a meeting headed by the first deputy governor, Abdul Qawi al-Makhlafi, and the Chief of Staff of the Axis, Major General Abdulaziz al-Majidi, to discuss the military and security developments in the governorate.

During the meeting, al-Makhlafi praised the efforts of the army and all parties in the governorate to open  “Al-Kamp – Julat Al-Qasr” road and prepare the road for travelers in record time.

The meeting reviewed the efforts of the competent authorities in preparing the road and the military procedures, as well as a report on the security measures towards facilitating the passage of travelers and the consequences of this by the governorate’s police department.

The meeting resulted in a number of decisions and stressed the continuation of coordination between the local authority, the army and the security services for the sake of serving the governorate and maintaining security and stability.

On Friday, the Central Bank directed to prevent the exit of foreign currencies from the liberated governorates to the Houthi-controlled areas, especially after the opening of some main roads between the governorates, most notably Taiz roads that have been closed for nine years.

The directive included allowing the new currency to leave to Houthi-controlled areas, not exceeding 200,000 riyals, and allowing the new currency to enter the legitimate-controlled areas, not exceeding 200,000 riyals.

As a result of that, the General Staff of the Yemeni Ministry of Defense directed the heads of the security services and the commanders of the military units to prevent the exit of foreign currencies to Houthi-controlled areas and to arrest anyone who tries to speculate on the old currency in front of the new currency.

The decisions of the Central Bank of Yemen in Aden came in order to reduce currency manipulation and prevent the smuggling of hard currency to Houthi areas, after weeks of issuing decisions by the Central Bank to stop six major banks in Houthi areas after they refused to transfer their main headquarters to the temporary capital, Aden, in addition to a decision to deposit the old currency in the bank or its branches and branches of commercial banks in the liberated areas for a period of sixty days in preparation for its cancellation.