Corruption scandal at Shabwa Bank: Disappearance of 1.5 billion riyals from the old print.

Arabian Sea Newspaper - Follow-ups

Arab Sea - Yemen - Follow-ups: Exclusive sources revealed a major corruption scandal in the branch of the Central Bank of Yemen in Shabwa Governorate, represented by the disappearance of one and a half billion riyals of old currency, which was smuggled and sold on the black market during the past years. According to a local official, the authorities arrested the branch manager, Saleh Fad'aq, and four employees, at the direction of the governor of the Central Bank, on the grounds of their involvement in the case. According to the sources, the missing amount had been kept in the bank's treasury since 2017, and it is of the same category that the Houthi militia still deals with in its areas of control. It has been gradually replaced by about six billion riyals of the new edition, which caused severe damage to the national economy and contributed to feeding the Houthi market with liquidity. The sources confirmed that the accused later returned an equivalent amount of the new currency to the bank's treasury as cover for the missing amount. Information indicates that three previous inspection committees from the Central Bank in Aden visited the Shabwa branch, but bribes given to their members contributed to covering up the case. The scandal was only revealed after a new committee visited in the first quarter of 2025 and refused to succumb to pressure. The source confirmed that investigations are still ongoing to uncover all those involved in the case, amid demands to hold accountable everyone who concealed or colluded.