After a lengthy FBI investigation, the chief federal prosecutor in New York has accused the co-founder of the American company, an employee in Taiwan, and a subcontractor of conspiring to illegally export servers equipped with chips through Southeast Asia.
Chips from Nvidia smuggled into China through the co-founder and employees of an American company, a major partner of the semiconductor giant in the server field. In the United States, the Super Micro Computer case is making headlines. While the smuggling of Nvidia components – including some AI chips that have been subject to export restrictions to China since 2022 – has long been suspected, this case – the largest ever handled by US authorities to date – reveals a rather sophisticated scheme involving a leader of a US company in the S&P 500.
2.5 billion dollars of technology
After several months of FBI investigation, the chief federal prosecutor in New York indicted two men linked to Super Micro Computer, including the co-founder and head of business development Wally Liaw, an employee in Taiwan, and an accomplice from an Asian provider. Together, they managed to bypass the existing restrictions and move at least 2.5 billion dollars of technology by concealing the true destination of servers equipped with chips. Assembled in the United States, these machines were sent via Super Micro’s facilities in Taiwan, before passing through several countries in Southeast Asia where the servers were repackaged in unbranded boxes and discreetly shipped to China. To create the appearance of compliance, the fraud involved staging thousands of dummy servers during inspections. Super Micro’s stock dropped by 30% on Wall Street on Friday.
