Authorities in the United States have indict two Chinese nationals for violating export controls by sending tens of millions of dollars worth of advanced Nvidia chips to China.
The US Department of Justice claimed on Tuesday that Chuan Geng and Shiwei Yang “knowingly and willfully” exported the graphic processing units (GPUs) used to power artificial intelligence without permission from October 2022 to July 2025.
According to export records, Geng and Yang, 28, organized at least 21 shipments with businesses in Singapore and Malaysia through ALX Solutions Inc., their El Monte, California-based business.
The US Department of Justice reported that the exports included a shipment of “false labelled” and illegitimately authorised Nvidia H100 GPUs that had been “falsely labelled” and had not received the necessary license from the US Department of Commerce in December 2024.
Instead of the businesses that accepted the shipments, ALX Solutions received payments from Hong Kong and China, including a $1 million payment from a Chinese company in January 2024.
Last week, a search of Geng and Yang’s and ALX Solutions’ offices revealed “incriminating communications,” including those regarding shipping chips to China through Malaysia to evade US export restrictions.
If found guilty under the Export Control Reform Act, Geng and Yang could receive a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The accused’s attorneys could not be reached for comment right away.
Nvidia, based in Santa Clara, California, claimed the case demonstrated that “smuggling is a nonstarter.”
A company spokesman said that “we primarily sell our products to well-known partners, including OEMs [original equipment manufacturers], who help us ensure that all sales adhere to US export control regulations.”
Any detained products would not have any service, support, or updates, despite being relatively small exporters and shipments being subject to thorough review and scrutiny.
In the midst of Washington and Beijing’s contentious battle for technological supremacy, the US government has halted the export of the most cutting-edge chips to China.
According to US officials, restrictions are necessary to safeguard national security, many of which were implemented under former US President Joe Biden.
China has accused Washington of undermining global trade and abusing its position of dominance in technology, which has responded with its own export controls against China.
Following discussions with US President Donald Trump, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announced last month that Washington had agreed to rescind its ban on the sale of its H20 GPU to China.
Source: Aljazeera
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