Yemen’s General People’s Congress rejects UN report on Saleh’s wealth

The Yemeni General People’s Congress Party led by ousted president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, rejected Monday allegations made in a United Nations report that Saleh had corruptly amassed nearly $60 billion during his rule.

The party’s Secretary General, Aref al-Zouki, handed over the objection letter to Jimmy McGoldrick, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Yemen, the party’s website reported.

According to the website, Zouki said the UN sanctions committee had taken “unfair measures” against a number of Yemeni citizens, including Saleh, “without any facts or information.”

The UN Panel of Experts on Yemen issued its final report to the United Nations Security Council, 31st January 2017, confirming that Saleh had embezzled between $32 -$60 billion during his term in office from 1978-2012.

Yemen has remained in a state of civil war since 2014, when the Houthis and allied forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh overran Sanaa and other parts of the country.

The conflict escalated one year later when Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a wide-ranging air campaign aimed at reversing Houthi military gains and shoring up the country’s government led by President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.