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Taiwan Arrests 3 in NVIDIA Chip Smuggling Probe Tied to China Export Ban

representative image of a circuit showing flags of U.S., China and Taiwan.
May 22, 2026 05:40 PM IST | Written by Mithun MK | Edited by Vaibhav Jha

Taiwanese prosecutors have arrested three people on suspicion of forging documents to ship advanced NVIDIA AI chips to China, Macao, and Hong Kong. 

This was in breach of US-exposed controls that bar such sales without a federal license. 

Taiwan’s Keelung District Prosecutors Office announced the arrest on Wednesday. The three defendants allegedly forged paperwork to clear approximately 50 high-end AI servers through Taiwan Customs. The servers were manufactured by US company Super Micro Computer and contained restricted NVIDIA chips. Some of the servers left the island before the arrest, a spokesperson for the office said on Friday, according to The Standard. 

The Prosecutor’s Office said that the defendants knew the sale was “strictly controlled” by the US and completely prohibited from being sold to the mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau regions. 

The United States has restricted exports of advanced AI chips, including NVIDIA’s H100 and successor models, to China since October 2022. The restrictions, administered by the US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, require companies to obtain an export license before selling such chips to Chinese buyers. However, no such license has been granted for bulk commercial sales to China.

Also Read: China is “poaching” Talent, AI and Semiconductor Tech from Taiwan: Report

The Taiwanese case follows a major U.S. enforcement action in March. Federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment against Super Micro Computer co-founder Yih-Shyan “Wally” Liaw and two colleagues, allegedly orchestrating a scheme to divert approximately USD 2.5 billion worth of NVIDIA chip-equipped servers to China through shell companies in Southeast Asia, according to CNBC and Bloomberg. Liaw resigned from the Super Micro’s board after the indictment. A co-defendant remains a fugitive, the US Department of Justice confirmed in March 2026. 

Taiwan Prosecutors it is too early to determine whether the Keelung case is connected to the US indictment. 

China’s foreign ministry declined to engage with the substance of the Taiwanese probe. Spokesperson Guo Jiakun on Friday said, “This is not a diplomatic issue, and I am not familiar with the relevant situation,” according to Global Times. 

Taiwan is a central node in semiconductor production, home to TSMC and Foxconn. Investigators have not named the intended industry end-users of the servers that left the island.

Also Read: Why Taiwan Still Sits at the Center of the US-China AI Race

Authors

  • Mithun MK Special Correspondent with AI FrontPage

    Mithun MK is a Special Correspondent at AI FrontPage. He brings over six years of investigative reporting on technology, surveillance, digital rights, and governance at The News Minute and The New Indian Express. He is trained in cross-border investigative methods with OCCRP, alongside reporters from Southeast Asia, and brings both reporting depth and technical fluency to AI FrontPage's coverage of the global AI industry.

    LinkedIn
  • Vaibhav Jha, editor and co-founder at AI FrontPage

    Vaibhav Jha is an Editor and Co-founder of AI FrontPage. In his decade long career in journalism, Vaibhav has reported for publications including The Indian Express, Hindustan Times, and The New York Times, covering the intersection of technology, policy, and society. Outside work, he’s usually trying to persuade people to watch Anurag Kashyap films.

    LinkedIn

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