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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 Tech execs held in China chip smuggling case
High-end artificial intelligence servers made by Super Micro Computer Inc are pictured at a warehouse in Keelung on May 20. Photo courtesy of the Coast Guard Administration
ONGOING PROBE:Prosecutors on Monday raided the offices and residences of six people suspected to be involved in the smuggling of high-end AI chips to China
By Lin Chia-tung, Yang Ya-min and Jake Chung / Staff reporters, with staff writer
Keelung prosecutors yesterday detained three executives from technology firms over the alleged smuggling of NT$700 million （US$21.99 million） of advanced Nvidia Corp chips to China, Hong Kong and Macau.
The Keelung District Court late last night approved the prosecutors’ request to detain an Albatron Technology Co （青雲） vice president surnamed Lu （呂）, and managers from Super Micro Computer Inc’s Taiwan branch surnamed Wang （王） and Lin （林）.
Investigators on Monday raided 12 sites as part of the investigation, including the homes of six people and the offices of the companies they worked for — Albatron, Chief Telecom Inc （是方電訊） and Super Micro, the Keelung Prosecutors’ Office said in a statement.
The prosecutors’ office on May 20 searched the residences, warehouses and workplaces of three technology industry workers — surnamed You （游）, Wang （王） and Chen （陳） — and found 50 sets of artificial intelligence （AI） servers made with Nvidia’s high-end GB300 chips, as well as NT$9 million in cash.
Prosecutors said it suspected the three suspects had exported the servers to Japan using falsified documents, before moving them to Hong Kong, from where they might have been sent to China.
You, Wang and Chen have been in detention since May.
In Monday’s raids, the prosecutors questioned Lu, and Super Micro managers Wang and Lin, and a Chief Telecom manager and employee surnamed Wang （王） and Chu （朱） respectively, in connection with the case.
Chief Telecom’s Wang and Chu were released on bail of NT$100,000 and NT$50,000 respectively, the prosecutors’ office said.
A US indictment unsealed on March 19 said that the US Department of Justice had charged Super Micro cofounder “Wally” Liaw Yih-Shyan （廖益賢）, Super Micro Taiwan sales manager Chang Ruei-tsang （張瑞滄） and Sun Ting-wei （孫廷瑋）, a contractor, with attempting to divert more than US$2.5 billion of cutting-edge Nvidia AI technology to China.
The US restricts the export of its most cutting-edge AI chips to China, partly over concerns the technology could be used by Beijing’s military.
Chief Telecom said in a statement that it would fully comply with prosecutors during the investigation.
The company said that it would notify the authorities if it becomes aware of its customer’s engaging in illegal activity.
It also said it reserved the right to sue media companies for false and malicious reporting of the incident.
Chris McGuire, an expert on China and AI at the US-based Council on Foreign Relations, said that chip smuggling was a “really significant problem” in Taiwan and Southeast Asia.
“It’s really, really important that allies align with the United States on all of these policies and also legal authorities,” McGuire said at a forum in Taipei this month.
Additional reporting by AFP and Reuters
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
