The Spanish company needs government authorization to pay its expenses and employee salaries.
14ymedio, Madrid, September 13, 2026 – The bank accounts of Tabacalera, the private partner of the Cuban State in Habanos S.A., remain frozen in Spain as a result of European sanctions against Chinese-Cambodian businessman Chen Zhi. The company now needs authorization from the Directorate General of the Treasury to make payments, a situation that even led to delays in paying its employees’ salaries.
The information was revealed this Saturday by the French publication L’Amateur de Cigare, which specializes in cigars, and by internal company communications. According to those sources, every Tabacalera payment to suppliers, service providers, or for routine expenses must first receive approval from the Treasury, which falls under Spain’s Ministry of Economy.
The European Union sanctioned Chen Zhi on July 30 for his responsibility in a network of scam centers in Cambodia linked to human trafficking, illegal detention, torture, and forced labor. According to Brussels, the Prince Holding Group conglomerate, controlled by the businessman, participated in the exploitation of people forced to commit digital fraud.
Half of Habanos S.A. belongs to ITI Cigars, a Spanish company wholly controlled by Tabacalera, while the other 50% remains in the hands of the Cuban state-owned company Cubatabaco.
At the beginning of August, Tabacalera informed its employees that the freezing of its accounts was the most serious consequence of the sanctions imposed by the European Union on Chen Zhi on July 30. The company warned at the time of possible delays in some operations and, shortly afterward, Human Resources confirmed a delay in salary payments. In a subsequent communication, it explained that it had obtained the necessary authorizations from the Treasury to unblock the payroll.
The scope of the problem extends beyond the Spanish company itself. Half of Habanos S.A. belongs to ITI Cigars, a Spanish company wholly controlled by Tabacalera, while the other 50% remains in the hands of the Cuban state-owned company Cubatabaco.
That structure dates back to the 2020 sale of Imperial Brands’ premium cigar business. Allied Cigar Corporation paid 1.04 billion euros for the international operations outside the United States, a portfolio that included the 50% stake in Habanos S.A. and a large part of the global distribution network for Cuban cigars.
Chen Zhi subsequently entered the structure and came to indirectly control 57.1% of Allied Cigar. His shareholding influence turned the international sanctions into a direct problem for Tabacalera and the companies linked to it.
Meanwhile, Habanos’ commercial network is accumulating difficulties in several markets across the continent
The new crisis comes just a few months after the company appeared to have stabilized its situation. In May, Tabacalera emerged from pre-insolvency proceedings – a procedure prior to bankruptcy – in Spain after obtaining temporary licenses from the authorities in the U.S. and United Kingdom that allowed it to continue operating despite the sanctions adopted in those countries against Chen Zhi.
The U.S. authorization extends through 2028 and the British authorization through 2031. Both allowed the company to partially normalize relations with banks, suppliers, and customers, but they do not cover the measures subsequently adopted by Brussels. Tabacalera is now trying to obtain an equivalent solution at the European level.
Meanwhile, Habanos’ commercial network is accumulating difficulties in several markets across the continent. In Germany, Fifth Avenue Products Trading GmbH, the exclusive distributor for that country, Austria, and Poland, was placed under provisional insolvency administration on September 9 by decision of the Waldshut-Tiengen court.
The strategy of sharply raising the prices of brands like Cohiba and Trinidad to place them in the ultra-luxury segment had disastrous consequences
Days earlier, Fifth Avenue had announced the temporary suspension of new orders and shipments due to banking restrictions related to sanctions against one of its shareholders. In Sweden, Elite Trading Scandinavia is in liquidation after previously losing its distribution license amid doubts about its ties to Chen Zhi.
By contrast, Tabacalera continues to supply cigars to distributors, according to an investigation by L’Amateur de Cigare at several points of sale.
The businessman, currently detained in China, was for years virtually unknown to most cigar consumers despite his influence within the corporate structure. Recent investigations have reconstructed his influence over the business and the strategy of sharply increasing the prices of brands such as Cohiba and Trinidad to place them in the ultra-luxury segment, with disastrous consequences for cigar sales in several markets.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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