Nvidia worker among 9 charged in Taiwan chip case

Taiwanese prosecutors said Monday that nine people, including a Nvidia worker, had been charged over the illegal export of artificial intelligence servers to China.

The Keelung District Prosecutors Office said the case involved “high-end” AI servers made by Super Micro Computer and containing advanced Nvidia chips. Prosecutors said the shipments violated US export controls.

Eight of the nine defendants were charged with breach of trust and forging documents to smuggle 74 servers containing Nvidia chips to China, prosecutors said. They said 50 of the servers were transhipped through Indonesia, eight were sent through Japan and the rest were exported directly to China.

Prosecutors said another 56 servers were seized at Taiwan's border. Three defendants were also charged with embezzlement.

The accused include two Super Micro employees, one Nvidia employee, one employee of Taiwan-listed Albatron Technology and one from Chief Telecom, prosecutors said.

Nvidia and Super Micro did not immediately respond to AFP requests for comment.

The United States restricts exports to China of the most advanced chips used to power artificial intelligence systems, including chips designed by Nvidia. Prosecutors said they were seeking sentences of up to five years in jail for seven defendants. They said they were seeking more lenient sentences for two defendants who had confessed to all charges and cooperated with the investigation.