Taiwan indicts 9 in Nvidia, Supermicro AI server smuggling case

Taiwan has indicted nine people, including an Nvidia senior manager and two Supermicro employees based in the country, for their alleged roles in forging documents to conceal illegal exports of high-end AI servers to China.

Taiwan prosecutors charge nine over document forgery and breach of trust. Prosecutors in the port city of Keelung announced the indictments on Monday. Eight of the defendants, including one employee from Nvidia's Taiwan unit and two from Super Micro's Taiwan unit, face charges of breach of trust and document forgery. A ninth defendant was charged in a related case involving the alleged siphoning of funds from a distributor company involved in the scheme.

Scheme used falsified records for 130 B300 servers. The alleged operation involved making it appear that 130 B300 servers ordered from Super Micro would be installed and used at a rented server facility in Taiwan. Of those, 74 servers were ultimately exported and delivered to Chinese customers through routes that included direct shipments to China as well as transhipments through Indonesia, Japan and Hong Kong. The remaining 56 servers were intended for export to a company in Japan but were stopped by Taiwan customs officials who detected irregularities.

Defendants knew of companies' export compliance rules. Taiwanese prosecutors said that all employees indicted were fully aware that Nvidia and Supermicro have rigorous internal control procedures regarding exports to China. The defendants allegedly colluded with one another at various levels for enormous profit. This illegal exporting is said to have increased corporate compliance costs and severely damaged the nation's international image.

Case follows US arrest of Supermicro co-founder. The Taiwan probe was launched after the US arrested Supermicro co-founder Wally Liaw in March for allegedly funneling $2.5 billion in restricted AI servers to China since 2024. Since 2022, the US has required a license to export semiconductors to China. One suspect linked to a related case remains at large.

Companies respond to the indictments. Nvidia said its employees have every incentive to work diligently with customers to ensure compliance with all applicable laws and that it would work with the Taiwan authorities. Super Micro said its cooperation with Taiwanese authorities led to the arrests. The case highlights ongoing efforts to enforce export controls on advanced AI technology.