Business Economics Politics International Relations
Rafat Al-Akhali رأفت الأكحلي
Rafat Al-Akhali رأفت الأكحلي

@ymnraf

11 tweets 76 reads Feb 16, 2021
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In this 3rd thread I will address the claim made by the #UN Panel of Experts (PoE) that Hayel Saeed Anam Group (HSA) companies utilising 48% of the deposit is a form of “Elite Capture”.
What the report fails to make clear is that HSA group has been the largest food importers in Yemen prior to the conflict, during the conflict before the deposit, during the deposit mechanism being in place, and after the deposit mechanism stopped.
For example, World Bank report published in 2018 shows that HSA accounted for 50% of wheat imports to Yemen in 2014-2016. The average Yemeni will readily tell you that HSA has been the leading business and industrial family group in Yemen since the 1960s.
For example, World Bank report published in 2018 shows that HSA accounted for 50% of wheat imports t...
For example, World Bank report published in 2018 shows that HSA accounted for 50% of wheat imports t...
For example, World Bank report published in 2018 shows that HSA accounted for 50% of wheat imports t...
For example, World Bank report published in 2018 shows that HSA accounted for 50% of wheat imports t...
For the PoE to take one statistic without providing it with the right context is very questionable.
If the PoE had any observations about how HSA got to where they are today in the Yemeni market over the past decades, they should have shared that as part of their evidence, but they simply did not.
What they did instead is make an assertation that “between mid-2018 and August 2020, the Hayel Saeed Anam Group made a profit of approximately $194.2 million from the letter of credit mechanism alone, excluding profits made from the import and sale of commodities.”.
How did they calculate such profit? Simply by doing a back of the envelope calculation based on the spread between the panel’s reported market exchange rate (no clear source for that provided) and the CBY exchange rate offered through the Saudi deposit.
Did the panel actually contact HSA group and ask them to provide details of their pricing? That was not done according to the report’s own Annex 3: Summary of Panel Correspondence.
I have asked further and confirmed the panel has not seeked to reach to HSA group and confirm any of their data or give them the opportunity to reply before publishing the report.
I'm very surprised that a PoE would publicly level a serious accusation against a company such as HSA of “**placing** ex-employees in key roles in the Government of Yemen (including in top positions at the Central Bank of Yemen and advisers within the Cabinet)”
without providing any proof nor giving the opportunity to reply.

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