US Charges Three with Smuggling AI Chips to China

Three individuals associated with Super Micro Computer have been charged by the US Department of Justice in connection with allegedly smuggling billions of dollars’ worth of artificial intelligence chips to China. The indictment, unsealed in federal court in Manhattan, names Yih-Shyan Liaw, Ruei-Tsang Chang, and Ting-Wei Sun as defendants.

According to the complaint, the defendants allegedly participated in a complex scheme involving US-made servers sent through Taiwan to other countries in Southeast Asia before being shipped to China. The alleged scheme involved fabricating documents, staging equipment, and using a pass-through company to conceal their activities.

Super Micro Computer has confirmed that it was informed of the indictment by federal prosecutors on Thursday. The company stated that it had cooperated with investigators and noted that it was not named as a defendant in the case. Liaw, who co-founded Super Micro in 1993, and Chang, a sales manager at the Taiwan office of Super Micro, were released on bail and held for further proceedings.

Sun, a contractor for Super Micro, remains a fugitive. The company has placed Liaw and Chang on leave and terminated its ties with Sun after being made aware of the charges. US officials have not disclosed which chips were involved in the alleged scheme, but Nvidia, a major supplier of AI chips to server makers like Super Micro, stated that it prioritizes strict compliance with export laws.

The indictment alleges that the defendants’ actions pose a threat to US national security. The US has had export restrictions on China for advanced AI chips since 2022.

Source: Al Jazeera