US Treasury imposes its control over the Bank of Aden.. Details of secret Riyadh deal
RIYADH, Aug. 04 (YPA) – Media sources have revealed that the Saudi-led coalition has assigned a team from the US Treasury Department to directly supervise the activities of the Central Bank in Aden, southern Yemen.
The sources explained that the team recently arrived in Saudi Arabia to assume full oversight of the bank’s financial operations as part of efforts to influence the Yemeni economy in coordination with Saudi Arabia.
The sources stated that “the President of the Leadership Council, Rashad al-Alimi, who was suddenly summoned to Riyadh in recent days, met with the US Treasury team and agreed to the conditions presented to him in exchange for an improvement in the currency exchange rate in areas under the coalition’s control.”
The sources indicated that al-Alimi obligated the prime minister loyal to the coalition, Salem bin Braik, and the governor of the Bank of Aden, Ahmed al-Ma’baqi, to implement the policies and directives of the US team, following meetings the latter held with commercial bank managers after their departure from Aden last week.
They added that the US Treasury team held separate meetings with commercial bank managers, each one separately, according to a leaked document detailing the dates of the meetings with the US team.
The sources indicated that the bank managers received direct threats of sanctions against their banks if they did not comply with the new measures.
According to the sources, among the US directives taken by the Treasury team was the imposition of an unrealistic fixed exchange rate for the Yemeni riyal against the dollar and the Saudi riyal in Aden and the rest of the southern provinces.
The sources pointed out that the sudden improvement in the Yemeni riyal’s exchange rate against foreign currencies occurred without any financial deposits or financial returns in hard currency for Aden Bank and has surprised everyone, attributing these measures to the leader of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) to ensure that Saudi Arabia is spared any further escalation with the Sanaa government.
The selling price of the US dollar fell from nearly 2,800 riyals to 1,640 riyals, while the selling price of the Saudi riyal fell from 700 riyals to 430 Yemeni riyals. A number of exchange companies were closed in Aden, most of them affiliated with STC leaders.
YPA