Yemen is Crumbling

Yemen has been a Zaydi strong hold for centuries. A lot of interesting Islamic ideas have been developed from here but unfortunately they didn't really become mainstream, mainly because most Muslims (in the past) seems to think and believe that Zaydis have been on the wrong side of the history. Zaydis were never able to achieve mass support from the people for a prolong period of time. Their ideology(Zaydism) was considered very militant at one time but of course that's very subjective now with the new wave of global jihad and terrorism of the 21st century using modern warfare techniques and propagation of extreme Sunni belief, even in Yemen.


I'm reading this news on why Yemen as a country was not able to progress much. Not surprising the main cause has to do with corrupt politicians.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Yemen's former president Ali Abdullah Saleh is alleged to have amassed assets worth between $32 billion and $60 billion, most believed to have been transferred abroad under other names, U.N. experts said in a report circulated Wednesday.

The experts, who monitor U.N. sanctions ordering all countries to freeze the assets of Saleh and two Houthi rebel leaders, said the ex-president's assets are believed to include property, cash, shares, gold and other valuable commodities in at least 20 countries.

"The origin of the funds used to generate Ali Abdullah Saleh's wealth is believed to be partly from his corrupt practices as president of Yemen, particularly relating to gas and oil contracts where he reportedly asked for money in exchange for granting companies exclusive rights to prospect for gas and oil in Yemen," the experts said.

The panel of experts said in the report to the U.N. Security Council that Saleh, his family and associates allegedly stole money from a fuel subsidy program which uses up to 10 percent of Yemen's gross domestic product, as well as other ventures involving extortion, embezzlement and abuse of power.

The report noted that Saleh had many years to hide his alleged assets — especially after the possibility of sanctions against him was raised nearly a year ago — using front companies or individuals acting on his behalf. The panel said five prominent Yemeni businessmen are believed to have helped him.

The experts said they are continuing their investigation into connections with these five people and other individuals believed to be assisting the Saleh family to remove funds from banks in Yemen and deposit them overseas. The panel said it is also conducting investigations into a number of private and publicly listed companies inside and outside Yemen where it is believed Saleh "may be the beneficial owner of investments."

Reference

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2015/feb/25/un-experts-yemen-ex-president-amassed-up-to-60/