New Houthi banknote in Yemen draws sharp rebuke from Aden's central bank

The Central Bank controlled by Yemen's Houthi group in Sanaa announced on Tuesday the release of a new 200-riyal banknote for circulation.

The new banknote will be available from Wednesday, alongside the recently issued coins. The bank claimed this issuance aims to solve the issue of damaged notes, particularly those of 250 riyals and below.

Following the move, the Central Bank based in Aden, aligned with the internationally recognised government, condemned the new currency as a "serious escalation" and accused the group of undermining the June 2024 agreement brokered by UN envoy Hans Grundberg.

"Their attempt to continue their blatant looting of citizens’ capital and savings, and as part of their efforts to finance their fake networks that have begun to operate with great exposure, without monetary or legal cover, amounting to trillions of riyals in the national currency and billions of dollars in foreign currencies," the statement said.

Earlier on Saturday, the Houthis had introduced a new 50-riyal coin for the second time, in a continued attempt to replace damaged paper currency in areas under their control.

The Aden bank warned all citizens, financial institutions, banks, and money exchange companies against dealing with these counterfeit currencies from an "illegal terrorist entity".

It urged them not to accept such notes in any financial transactions to protect their funds and avoid penalties for dealing with a group listed as a terrorist organisation internationally.

It also warned that anyone found possessing, using or trading the new banknotes would face penalties.

The bank added that it has been working with allied countries to regulate channels for financial and banking dealings in Houthi-controlled areas.

Recently, the Governor of the Central Bank in Aden met with European Union ambassadors to Yemen. The ambassadors recognised the Aden-based bank as the only institution authorised to issue legal currency in the country.

They described any other minting of coins as "illegal counterfeiting" according to official government media. The ambassadors also pledged full support to Governor Ahmed Ghaleb.