Taiwan Suspects Nvidia Chips Smuggled to China Via Japan

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Taiwan Suspects Nvidia Chips Smuggled to China Via Japan Mackenzie Hawkins and Debby Wu Thu, May 28, 2026 at 4:58 AM CDT 4 min read SMCI NVDA (Bloomberg) -- Taiwan prosecutors suspect that three individuals successfully smuggled at least one shipment of Nvidia Corp. AI chips to China after first exporting them to Japan, people familiar with the matter said. Singapore Hands Byju's Founder His First Ever Jail Term Iran’s Khamenei Says No Going Back for Middle East Rocked by War Ex-President Biden Sues to Stop DOJ Sharing Interview Tapes Two More Oil Supertankers Exit Hormuz to Help Push Up Flows ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Studio Draws Tencent Music Investment The trio was detained last week by Taiwan’s Keelung District Prosecutors Office for allegedly falsifying documents related to exports of Super Micro Computer Inc. servers containing advanced Nvidia chips, which the US has barred from sale to China without a license from Washington. The move marked the island democracy’s first public crackdown on AI chip diversion after years of pressure from the US to take a more active role in curtailing China’s tech access. When Taiwan authorities apprehended the three defendants — who’ve now been officially detained — they also seized about 50 servers for which they accuse the trio of preparing fraudulent export documents. But at least one shipment had already gone through Taiwan customs, according to the people familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity to speak about an ongoing criminal investigation. That earlier shipment went to Japan before eventually making it to Hong Kong, a known waypoint for hardware that’s ultimately shipped to mainland China, the people said. The people declined to specify the amount of hardware that Taiwan authorities believe was successfully smuggled. The defendants also allegedly planned to use Japan as an intermediary location for the batch of servers that Taiwan officials seized last week, according to the people. The probe may be the first known instance of prosecutors targeting an AI-chip smuggling route through Japan, a close ally of the US and cornerstone of American defense strategy in the Asia-Pacific. Other cases have focused on diversion via Southeast Asia, including the biggest such indictment in the US. An official with the Japanese Ministry of Finance’s Customs Bureau declined to comment, referring Bloomberg to an existing agreement on mutual assistance on custom matters with Taiwan. “There is a framework for information sharing with Taiwan, but we will refrain from commenting on individual cases,” the official said. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry didn’t respond to requests for comment on Taiwan’s suspicions. A spokesperson for the Keelung District Prosecutors Office in Taiwan declined to comment, citing an ongoing investigation. Bloomberg was unable to contact the three defendants, whom the prosecutors office has identified only by surname. Japan is one of many locations in Asia where Chinese companies access American AI chips — by renting hardware that’s owned by foreign firms and installed in overseas data centers. That setup is generally permitted under US export control rules, which were first imposed in 2022 over concerns that advanced AI could lend Beijing a military edge. But many in Washington have long been convinced that Chinese firms have also managed to procure smuggled hardware within their home country. And after years of relative quiet on the chip export control enforcement front, American prosecutors are now pursuing at least five criminal cases related to semiconductor diversion. That’s on top of chip export fraud cases in Taiwan and Singapore, which don’t have their own semiconductor export controls and instead rely on local laws to address the issue. Taiwan authorities haven’t accused Nvidia or Super Micro of any wrongdoing. Nvidia Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang, asked on Saturday about the Taiwan case, said that the chipmaker is “rigorous” in explaining regulations to all of its partners. “Ultimately Super Micro has to run their own company,” Huang told reporters upon his arrival in Taipei, where he’s set to attend events through next week. “I hope that they will enhance and improve their regulation compliance and avoid that from happening in the future.” Nvidia didn’t respond to a request for comment for this story. Super Micro said in a statement that it worked closely with Taiwanese authorities on the case, resulting in the arrest of the suspects and seizure of servers “that had been deceptively acquired after being sold by Super Micro to an authorized reseller.” The company added that the initial sale to that authorized reseller “followed a rigorous vetting and review process that exceeded applicable government requirements.” In an earlier response to Huang’s comments, Super Micro said on Saturday that its “robust compliance frameworks” are “supported by rigorous due diligence in alignment with Nvidia and other partners.” “In addition, recent events underscore the need for industrywide solutions that would further help safeguard supply chains and strengthen enforcement of export control laws,” the company said in an emailed statement at the time. --With assistance from Erica Yokoyama and Mayumi Negishi. (Updates with MOF’s statement in the 6th paragraph.) 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Taiwanese prosecutors are investigating a case where Nvidia AI chips were allegedly smuggled to China via Japan, marking Taiwan's first public crackdown since the US restricted advanced AI chip sales to China. This incident highlights Taiwan's increased efforts to curb China's access to technology, aligning with US pressure.

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