11 hours ago
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Taiwanese prosecutors have indicted a senior Nvidia manager and eight others over an alleged scheme to smuggle advanced AI servers into China in violation of US export restrictions.
The Nvidia employee, surnamed Chang, allegedly helped arrange the sale of 130 Super Micro servers equipped with Nvidia B300 chips. Prosecutors allege that 74 were ultimately delivered to Chinese customers through routes including Indonesia, Japan, and Hong Kong.
Taiwanese authorities intercepted the remaining 56 servers before they could be exported.
Two senior employees of Super Micro Computer were also indicted alongside executives and employees from several other companies involved in the alleged scheme.
Prosecutors accused the group of falsifying documents and misleading Nvidia and Super Micro about where the servers would be installed and used.
The scheme allegedly began after Flying Tiger Technology obtained approval to purchase Nvidia hardware and presented plans to install the servers at a Taiwanese data center.
According to prosecutors, the defendants created the appearance that Flying Tiger had sufficient data center capacity to operate the servers. Chang and a Super Micro employee allegedly participated in an inspection while concealing that the company did not have enough space for the equipment.
Nvidia subsequently approved the allocation and Super Micro agreed to sell the 130 servers.
Prosecutors allege that the defendants later arranged for 74 servers to reach Chinese buyers through direct shipments and transit points in other Asian markets.
Chang, whom prosecutors described as a central figure in the scheme, faces charges including forgery and breach of trust. Prosecutors are seeking a five-year prison sentence, according to people familiar with the case.
Taiwan has not accused Nvidia or Super Micro as companies of wrongdoing.
Super Micro said it has been cooperating with Taiwanese authorities and emphasized that the company itself is not a target of the investigation.
Nvidia previously said it expects partners and customers to comply with US export controls and described chip smuggling as a nonstarter.
The case comes as US authorities increase scrutiny of efforts to move restricted Nvidia AI hardware into China. Washington has imposed controls on exports of advanced AI chips to China since 2022.
Taiwanese prosecutors said the alleged scheme increased corporate compliance costs and damaged Taiwan’s international reputation.
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English (US) ·