BREAKING NEWS – Habanos SA shareholder Chen Zhi is on the run

The Cambodian businessman of Chinese origin is accused by the US authorities of massive fraud. A routine investigation by the Swedish administration confirmed his key role in Habanos SA, via a complex network of offshore companies.

 

On October 15, Washington and London announced their decision to impose sanctions and freeze certain activities of Chen Zhi, founder of one of the largest and most influential conglomerates in the Kingdom of Cambodia… and a shareholder in Habanos SA.

The Cambodian businessman is accused of running a massive network of so-called “pig butchering” scams, which involves gaining the trust of individuals via emails and then manipulating them into investing in fake cryptocurrency investments or directly transferring money to them. He has not been arrested and is wanted and therefore considered on the run, according to U.S. investigators. If convicted, he faces up to 40 years in prison. U.S. authorities have already seized $15 billion in cryptocurrency assets—the largest seizure ever made.

 

Chen Zhi, an influential businessman

Chen Zhi, 38, is of Chinese origin but holds multiple nationalities (Cambodian since 2014, he also holds a Vanuatu passport and a Cypriot passport). He is no stranger to aficionados and attentive readers of “L’Amateur de Cigare”.

In recent years, his name has been regularly cited as one of the Asian investors who, in 2020, acquired the 50% stake in Habanos SA, previously held by Imperial Tobacco. Without official confirmation, his involvement remained speculative. But a simple administrative investigation conducted in Sweden in recent months confirms that, thanks to a series of offshore companies, he is one of the major shareholders of Allied Cigar Corporation S.L.U., which owns half of Habanos SA.

 

A cascade of companies that culminate in Habanos S.A.

Everything is indeed described in black and white in an organizational chart sent to the Gothenburg administration by Habanos Nordic AB, the local distributor of Cuban cigars. According to this chart, Chen Zhi owns 100% of a company named Simply Advance Ltd, registered in the British Virgin Islands. This company itself controls 57.10% of another structure, Allied Cigar Fund L.P., this time registered in the Cayman Islands.

Allied Cigar Fund L.P. in turn fully oversees a third structure, Supreme Trading International Ltd., located in the British Virgin Islands. This administers Asia Uni Corporation Ltd., registered in Hong Kong and which controls Allied Cigar Corporation S.L.U., the 50% owner of Habanos S.A., thus completing the circle.

If this previously unpublished information ended up on the desk of a Swedish official, it was above all the result of a series of coincidences. It all began in early 2025 when the Swedish administration was notified of a change in management at Habanos Nordic AB, the distributor of Cuban cigars for Sweden and part of Northern Europe: the “external CEO” (a specificity of Swedish business law) left his post without being replaced. Part of his duties automatically reverted to the chairman of the board of directors, while an official contact, without an executive role, was appointed to receive legal notifications for the company.

 

A series of surprises during a routine investigation

Swedish law is clear. The integrity of these directors and officers must be investigated, the outcome of which will determine whether the company can continue operating. In undertaking this routine investigation, Swedish officials are in for a series of surprises. First, they discover that the chairman of the board has been in office since 2023. And since this change was not reported to them at the time, they must investigate further. They then realize that, since the summer of 2023, three non-residents of Sweden have been designated as shareholders of Altabana S.L., the structure that controls Habanos Nordic AB. They are therefore the company’s “true owners”: two Cubans, each controlling no more than 25% of the capital, and Chen Zhi, who controls between 25 and 50% of the company.

The administration, which must systematically verify the integrity of individuals, shareholders, or managers considered “influential” in the running of a company, is demanding further explanations from Habanos Nordic AB. This includes a detailed register of the company’s shareholders and all parent companies until the individuals are clearly identified. Unable to provide such a register, the distributor is asked to produce a rough organizational chart of the entire group. And it is this document, provided by Habanos Nordic AB, that finally allows Chen Zhi’s role in Habanos S.A. to be brought to light. A man who is now wanted by the American authorities.

 

Régis Besko