Authorities have arrested three individuals on fraud charges as part of an investigation into the alleged smuggling of Nvidia chips, amid concerns over violations of U.S. export controls.
Singapore police and customs officials raided 22 locations, detaining nine individuals and seizing documentary and electronic records. Authorities have charged Singaporean nationals Aaron Woon Guo Jie, 41, and Alan Wei Zhaolun, 49, with criminal conspiracy to commit fraud by falsely declaring server end points. Li Ming, a Chinese national, is accused with fraud by false representation after claiming that Luxuriate Your Life was the ultimate user of the equipment in 2023.
Authorities are investigating if Restricted Nvidia chips were sourced from Dell and Super Micro servers and smuggled to Malaysia before being illegally transferred to other places. Law Minister K. Shanmugam stated that authorities are working to determine whether the technology made it to other countries, while reports claim Singaporean intermediaries facilitated illegal Chinese exports.
The inquiry is ongoing after China drew criticism for acquiring illegal US-made AI chips, with reports revealing that DeepSeek, a Chinese AI business, received restricted chips in breach of trade restrictions.
The Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry claims that it does not need to impose unilateral export controls, but it does require its local operating enterprises to follow all applicable legislation. Dr. Tan See Leng, Second Minister for Trade and Industry, stated that domestic facilities cannot be used to bypass trade restrictions.
Fraud by false representation carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a fine, or both. Additionally, Singapore Customs is conducting an investigation into potential infractions of the Customs Act and the Regulation of Imports & Exports Act. The investigation is still ongoing, and additional legal action may be taken.
