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.
Saleh, who was president of the Arab world’s poorest country for 33 years, was forced from power after Yemen’s 2011 Arab Spring revolt.
“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.