Chinese fugitive seized control of half of Cuba’s tobacco empire using crypto and human trafficking

For years, Chen Zhi seemed like just another rising business star from Southeast Asia, but behind the polished image, the Chinese businessman—wanted by the United States and the United Kingdom—was quietly weaving his way into one of the world’s most iconic luxury industries: Cuban cigars. According to a recent report by CiberCuba, Chen ended up controlling half of Habanos S.A., the company responsible for marketing Cuba’s most celebrated cigars, all while remaining almost invisible to the public eye.

A hidden empire built on shadows

Chen didn’t rise to the top through traditional business deals. Rather, he formed what experts now call “web capitalism 2.0”—a maze of shell corporations, offshore financial records, and cryptocurrencies that camouflaged the exact proprietorship of his business domain.

While portraying himself as a young mogul, Chen’s Prince Group allegedly ran cyber scams and secretive compounds where thousands of people were trafficked, imprisoned, and forced into digital fraud. Authorities in the U.S. estimate the group laundered billions of dollars through illegal casinos, cryptocurrency schemes, and clandestine payment platforms like HuionePay, which FinCEN has labelled a major hub for global money laundering.

The high price of luxury

Chen’s influence became clear in 2020, when he quietly acquired a controlling stake in Allied Cigar Corporation, which owns half of Habanos. Utilising a jumble of businesses listed in the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, and the British Virgin Islands, he shambled ownership to conceal his participation and involvement. Papers obtained by Swedish authorities exposed the elaborate web of organisations—Asia Uni Corporation, Instant Alliance, and others—that can all be traced back to Chen.

The effect was dramatic. By 2021, the price of Cuban cigars in Asia hit the roof. Boxes that had sold for 4,000–5,000 Hong Kong dollars shot up to 18,000, while special editions fetched half a million at auction. Industry insiders said Chen’s strategy was simple but ruthless: create scarcity, control distribution, and turn cigars into speculative luxury items.

Yet behind the elegance of a Cohiba smoked in a private Shanghai lounge lies a darker story. Trafficked workers, deceived migrants, and individuals forced to labour in enclosed compounds across Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos were part of the machinery that fueled this luxury market, according to U.S. and UK reports.