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US Suspects Nvidia Chips Smuggled to Alibaba via Thailand, Bloomberg News Reports
U.S. prosecutors say the scheme moved at least $2.5 billion in AI technology and used falsified shipping records to evade export controls.
- On Friday, Bloomberg reported that OBON Corp., a Bangkok-based AI infrastructure firm partnered with Thailand's National AI Strategy, allegedly helped move billions in Nvidia-equipped Supermicro servers into China, with Alibaba identified as an eventual customer.
- Supermicro co-founder Yih-Shyan Wally Liaw was arrested in March on charges of conspiring to violate the Export Controls Reform Act and faces up to 20 years; prosecutors allege Liaw and a "rotating cast" of brokers re-routed around $2.5bn of servers between 2024 and 2025 using falsified paperwork.
- Chinese grey-market prices for the B300 reached $1m, roughly double sticker, demonstrating financial incentives that fund brokers executing diversions, while investigators believe the company exploited Thailand's chip-import allocation by disguising shipments as sovereign demand.
- CEO Charles Liang maintains the indicted individuals acted outside Supermicro's compliance regime, yet the audit committee continues investigating how billions in diverted servers cleared the company's export-control checks for two years.
- The investigative thread extending from Bangkok to Hangzhou sharpens the broader US-China chip-equipment standoff, with policy discussions now questioning whether future controls should treat partner-state programmes as trusted recipients or require additional verification surfaces.
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US media has revealed that a company linked to Thailand's national AI project is suspected of helping to smuggle billions of dollars worth of Nvidia server chips to China. Alibaba has denied any involvement.
US probes Nvidia chip-smuggling via Thailand
A company linked to Thailand’s national AI initiative is suspected of helping smuggle at least $2.5 billion worth of computer servers containing advanced Nvidia chips to China, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
·Bangkok, Thailand
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources19
Leaning Left1Leaning Right3Center3Last UpdatedBias Distribution43% Center, 43% Right
Bias Distribution
- 43% of the sources are Center, 43% of the sources lean Right
43% Right
14%
C 43%
R 43%
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