Chen Zhi to be removed from Habanos

The Swedish Habanos importer Elite Trading Scandinavia AB is requesting a further reprieve from the Municipality of Gothenburg, citing "ongoing restructuring processes to remove Mr. Chen Zhi from the entire group, which we hope can be completed soon." At the same time, Elite Trading failed to submit the documentation requested by the municipality and is instead removing Chen Zhi from the Swedish Companies Registration Office's register of beneficial owners, even though his ownership appears to be the same. This time, the municipality refused an additional reprieve.

Published:  2025-12-12, at 09:57

Disclaimer: Cigarrvärlden is owned and operated by Cigarrklubben CK Sverige AB, which also operates a cigar club and has a foot in both camps. To put it mildly. Divison and separation of operations and the editorial is explained under the section "Conflicts of Interest (in Swedish)". Cigarrvärlden operates under a ‘certificate of no legal impediment to publication conferring constitutional protection’ (utgivningsbevis). With this certificate, Cigarrvärlden enjoys a special legal status in Swedish law under the freedom of expression act.

As Cigarrvärlden previously reported, the municipality of Gothenburg is conducting a review of the tobacco license for the Swedish Habanos importer Elite Trading Scandinavia AB, in which the now wanted by the DOJ Chen Zhi is a central figure as he owns 28.55 percent of the company. The municipality has requested various types of documents from law enforcement authorities such as tax authorities, Debt Collection agencies from various countries, and extracts from criminal records relating to Chen Zhi on several occasions. The first request was made in the summer, Elite Trading presented a screenshot that was claimed to be an extract from the Dow Jones Risk Center which was not enough for the municipality and was given until October 27 to submit documents and comment on the ongoing prosecution against Chen Zhi in the US, whereupon Elite Trading asked for a further reprieve until December 10.  

Request for further reprieve

On December 9, Elite Trading requests a further reprieve until the end of January next year, because, according to the Swedish company's board member, Chen Zhi is being removed from the entire group. At the same time, the board member informs that Chen Zhi is no longer the beneficial owner, as he has been deleted from the Swedish Companies Registration Office's service as beneficial owner on December 2. The municipality referred to previous reprieves and denied Elite Trading's request for further grace. On December 10, Elite Trading Scandinavia had still not submitted the documents requested by the municipality.

Image 1: The board member's additional request for a reprieve and information regarding Chen Zhi's removal from the group.

The Swedish Companies Registration Office's register of beneficial owners

The Swedish Companies Registration Office confirms that the change has been implemented and was made by a Swedish lawyer. In addition, the Swedish Companies Registration Office confirms that as an authority it is not possible to confirm whether the register reflects the actual list of share holders, at least not in connection with a change notification, but emphasizes that the Swedish Companies Registration Office's register and the actual list of share holders must match, otherwise the Swedish Companies Registration Office may impose a fine.

After Chen Zhi is no longer registered as the beneficial owner in the Companies Registration Office's register, there is now no owner for the remainder of 50% of the shares. The director of Elite Trading Scandinavia argues in its letter to the municipality that they have now made a new assessment of Chen Zhi and that he is therefore not a beneficial owner because he does not exercise control over Elite Trading Scandinavia. There is no new share holder agreement, an updated actual list of share holders or a new organigram showing where Chen Zhi has gone or who controls the other 50% of the shares. It is clear from the letter that Elite Trading Scandinavia equates the Companies Registration Office's register of beneficial owners with the Tobacco Act's designation of persons with significant influence. And since Chen Zhi is not part of the one, he cannot be the other.

Is there likely to be conflict as Chen Zhi is about to leave Habanos?

Exactly how Chen Zhi will be removed from the group is not clear, nor is it clear whether he is on board or if he is being forced to do so due to the pending money laundering and human trafficking charges . But it seems to have created discord among the board and the former CEO who now represents Elite Trading Scandinavia by proxy.

In an email sent to the board member with the municipality copied, the former CEO writes that he does not agree with the board member at all. It came shortly after the board member requested a further extension of the reprieve, which was denied the day before the deadline expired, and contained information that Chen Zhi is to be removed from the entire group and that he is deleted from the Swedish Companies Registration Office's service as beneficial owner. Since the former CEO has been the municipality's contact person in handling the matter, the board member now makes it clear to the municipality that the former CEO is - despite his power of attorney - not representing Elite Trading Scandinavia in matters regarding tobacco permits that the municipality is handling.

Image 2: Note from the case file: "I don't agree at all to what you have done!" 

The next day, the former CEO calls the municipality and states that the email he sent with the text "I don't agree at all to what you have done!" is not part of the case and was sent to the wrong recipient, so the municipality should disregard it, which was noted in the case file.

The municipality's continued handling

The municipality will now process the case based on the material it has at its disposal. It is of course difficult to speculate exactly how long the process will take once their decision is made.

Footnote: Cigarrvärlden is seeking representatives of  Elite Trading Scandinavia AB and Chen Zhi for comment.

Edits/updates in order, by date/time: added footnote:

The editorial team 

If you work for a reputable publication offers protection to your source, we are open to the possibility of sharing certain working material (research), raw data and full names. Contact our editorial team for more information.