The US has arrested another suspect accused of smuggling high-end computer servers containing export-controlled Nvidia chips into China. In a press release on Thursday, the Department of Justice accused 38-year-old Greg Lui of using false paperwork to mask shipments of servers worth more than $300 million that he allegedly knew were ultimately destined for China.
As the CEO of Earthmade Computer, Lui allegedly conspired with freight-forwarding firms in South Asian countries like Malaysia and Singapore to illegally divert chip shipments into China, including Nvidia’s A100 GPUs and H100 GPUs. One key piece of evidence is a 2024 email discussing an order for 70 servers with export-restricted GPUs that were fraudulently claimed as destined for Malaysia.
Arrested on three counts, Lui is accused of conspiring to violate the Export Control Reform Act and the Export Administration Regulations, as well as federal smuggling and money laundering laws. He faces up to 20 years in prison if found guilty of either the conspiracy or money laundering counts.
Nvidia denied seeing red flags. A spokesperson told Bloomberg that “less than one half of one percent to Nvidia products” have allegedly been diverted to China. Experts suggest that the black market is “hard to measure,” though, and likely much bigger than has been reported.
Source: Ars Technica · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing