Nvidia Chips Smuggled To China? 3 Men Charged In Singapore Amid US Export Crackdown

Three men were charged with fraud in Singapore on Thursday following raids linked to the alleged illegal movement of Nvidia Corp. NVDA chips to China, bypassing U.S. export controls.

What Happened: The men were among nine people arrested when Singapore authorities raided 22 locations on Wednesday. The cases involve chips allegedly destined for Chinese AI firm DeepSeek, reported local media CNA, citing sources.

Singaporeans Aaron Woon Guo Jie, 41, and Alan Wei Zhaolun, 49, were charged with criminal conspiracy to commit fraud on a server supplier. They allegedly falsely represented in 2024 that the items would not be transferred to unauthorized end users.

Chinese national Li Ming, 51, faces a separate fraud charge for allegedly claiming in 2023 that a company called “Luxuriate Your Life” would be the end user.

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Why It Matters: The raids follow media reports that intermediaries in Singapore were facilitating the movement of restricted Nvidia chips to China, circumventing U.S. export restrictions. The U.S. Commerce Department had reportedly been investigating whether DeepSeek has been using U.S. chips prohibited from export to China.

This case emerges as Nvidia recently reported record quarterly revenue of $39.3 billion in the fourth quarter, up 78% year-over-year, with its data center segment generating $35.6 billion, up 93%. Despite the strong earnings report, Nvidia shares dipped Thursday as traders sold off following the results announcement.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang recently highlighted the company’s successful ramp-up of Blackwell AI supercomputers, achieving “billions of dollars in sales in its first quarter,” as AI continues advancing “at light speed.”

Price Action: Nvidia closed at $120.15, down 8.48%. After hours, it rose 0.83% to $121.15, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.