Quartet Accused in $3.8M Nvidia AI Chip Illicit Export to China
Federal prosecutors have charged four individuals with the illegal smuggling of advanced Nvidia AI chips, valued in the millions, to China. This case underscores the ongoing tensions surrounding semiconductor exports. The defendants, comprising of two Americans and two Chinese nationals, are alleged to have conspired from September 2023 through November 2025 to export restricted GPUs through third countries such as Malaysia and Thailand, effectively bypassing U.S. export controls.
The scheme reportedly succeeded in moving 400 Nvidia A100 chips to China between October 2024 and January 2025. Law enforcement, however, managed to disrupt additional shipments. These included 10 HPE supercomputers with H100 accelerators and 50 H200 GPUs. The group is accused of using shell companies, fake invoices, and falsified documents to hide the chips’ true destinations, raking in over $3.89 million in the process.
This case emerges amidst broader geopolitical tensions over AI technology exports. The Trump administration is currently deliberating on whether to permit sales of certain Nvidia chips to China. The arrests highlight the challenges faced in enforcing export controls on critical AI hardware, which China seeks for military and surveillance applications.
Source: CNBC