Systematic Collapse: The Currency Exchange Crime in Aden Between the Black Market Economy and the Absence of the State

Arabian Sea Newspaper - Special

Systematic Collapse: The Currency Exchange Crime in Aden Between the Black Market Economy and the Absence of the State Strategic Analysis - Arabian Sea A Crime That Cannot Be Covered Up On the night of Sunday, August 31, Yemenis in Aden experienced a new chapter in the series of economic chaos, when exchange companies affiliated with officials in the legitimate government reduced the exchange rate of the Saudi riyal from 425 to 250 riyals, in a move outside the scope of the central bank, more like a public robbery of people's savings. It was not just a fluctuation in the market, but a full-fledged economic crime, aimed at withdrawing currency from the hands of citizens at the lowest prices, while billions of riyals went as net profits into the pockets of a financial elite closely linked to an absent authority and a "legitimacy" that is no more than a poor cover for organized looting. First: Who Benefits from This Crime? The sudden reduction was not spontaneous, but a well-studied plan that primarily serves: 1. Exchange companies that have turned into financial mafias that control the threads of the market without any oversight. 2. Influential people in power who find in these crises an opportunity to launder their money and achieve exorbitant profits. 3. The parallel economy, or what is known as the black market, which has become stronger than the central bank itself. Second: The Central Bank... Silence the Size of Collusion The central bank is supposed to be the safety valve for monetary stability, but today it is a helpless or complicit institution. • Impotence: the absence of real monetary instruments, and the lack of foreign exchange reserves. • Collusion: the participation of influential parties within the bank in passing exchange deals. The suspicious silence that followed the scandal leaves no room for doubt: the central bank is either a partner in the crime or a false witness to it. Third: Direct Economic Repercussions • Collapse of confidence: The citizen has lost confidence in everything that is called monetary policy or official exchange rate. • Erosion of savings: Hundreds of millions of riyals were seized in a few hours. • Coming inflation: Every similar operation pushes prices towards a new explosion in the market. • Fragile economy: The absence of the state allowed the parallel market to turn into a "shadow government" that controls people's daily lives. Fourth: Legitimacy... The Mask of Corruption What is called legitimacy is no more than a worn-out facade for an authority that has lost all connection with the homeland and the citizen. • It has become just a tool in the hands of the outside world. • Its leaders feed on crises and turn the people into hostages of hunger and poverty. • A state without institutions, but just a network of brokers and opportunists. Fifth: Future Scenarios If these violations continue unchecked, the future will be even darker: 1. Total collapse of the currency: The riyal reaches unprecedented levels against foreign currencies. 2. Social explosion: The accumulation of popular anger may trigger a massive wave of protests. 3. Complete economic disintegration: The black market turns into an actual authority that transcends the state. Conclusion: A Major National Crime What happened in Aden is not just an economic defect, but a major national crime, a public theft of the savings of the poor under the cover of a corrupt "legitimacy" and a blatant official silence. What is required today is not formal statements, but: • A public trial of the exchange companies involved and the officials behind them. • Direct compensation for the affected citizens. • A radical reform of the central bank or its replacement with an independent, transparent body. Otherwise, history will record that what bled Yemen was not only the bullets of war, but the greed and corruption of the elite, which turned the homeland into a farm and the people into cheap fuel for their base interests.