A Nvidia executive faces indictment in Taiwan for allegedly orchestrating the illicit export of restricted AI chips to mainland China.
Taiwanese prosecutors have indicted a senior Nvidia manager and eight other individuals over an alleged scheme to smuggle advanced AI servers into China in violation of U.S. 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 buyers through transit routes including Indonesia, Japan, and Hong Kong, while 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 staff from several other companies involved in the alleged operation. Prosecutors accused the group of falsifying documents and misleading both Nvidia and Super Micro regarding where the servers would be installed and used. The scheme reportedly began after Flying Tiger Technology obtained approval to purchase Nvidia hardware and submitted plans to install the equipment at a Taiwanese data center. According to prosecutors, defendants created the appearance that Flying Tiger possessed sufficient data center capacity to operate the servers. Chang and a Super Micro employee allegedly participated in an inspection while concealing the company’s lack of adequate space. Following this deception, Nvidia approved the allocation and Super Micro agreed to sell the 130 servers.
Prosecutors allege that the defendants later rerouted 74 servers to Chinese buyers via direct shipments and transit points across other Asian markets. Chang, described by prosecutors as a central figure in the operation, faces charges including forgery and breach of trust. Individuals familiar with the case state that prosecutors are seeking a five-year prison sentence for him.
Taiwanese authorities have not accused Nvidia or Super Micro as corporate entities of wrongdoing. Super Micro stated it has been cooperating with Taiwanese investigators and emphasized that the company itself is not a target of the probe. Nvidia previously noted that it expects partners and customers to comply with U.S. export controls and characterized chip smuggling as a nonstarter. The indictment arrives as U.S. authorities intensify scrutiny of efforts to divert restricted Nvidia AI hardware into China, following Washington’s imposition of export controls on advanced AI chips to the region in 2022.
Taiwanese prosecutors concluded that the alleged smuggling network increased corporate compliance costs and damaged Taiwan’s international reputation.