Taiwan has indicted nine people, including an Nvidia staffer identified only as “Chang,” over alleged diversion of restricted Nvidia chips to China, first reported by Forbes. The case highlights how intermediaries, false records and transshipment through third countries can complicate enforcement of detailed, frequently changing U.S. export controls on Nvidia hardware.
The indictment concerns a scheme that allegedly enabled the shipment of several dozen export-restricted Nvidia chips to China. Some Nvidia hardware can still be sold to China, but the newest products face detailed restrictions that change frequently.
At present, H200s can be shipped to specific Chinese companies, including Alibaba, subject to volume caps. The H20’s export status went back and forth in 2025 as U.S. officials debated which hardware to control and how.
Intermediaries complicate enforcement
Intermediaries and front companies can buy GPUs or GPU-equipped servers, claim a legitimate destination outside China, and route them through Singapore, Malaysia or Thailand. False end-user certifications, false business records, mislabelled GPUs and removed identifying labels can further obscure the equipment’s destination.
Together, those methods make comprehensive enforcement virtually impossible. Legislators Liz Warren and Jim Banks wrote that “Nvidia’s due diligence responsibilities under the EAR cannot be waived or outsourced,” arguing that alleged diversions involving Southeast Asia raised questions about Jensen Huang’s public assurances.
The U.S. Justice Department indicted Yih-Shyan “Wally” Liaw, Ruei-Tsang “Steven” Chang and Ting-Wei “Willy” Sun in March over an alleged conspiracy to divert U.S.-assembled AI servers to China. Prosecutors alleged the use of false documents, dummy servers and transshipment schemes; Taiwan is cooperating with the U.S. export-control regime while using Taiwanese law for conduct within Taiwan.
China’s response is also moving toward domestic production. Chinese operators can string Huawei Ascend chips together to emulate, to some extent, what they would have done with restricted Nvidia hardware.
The dispute therefore has two tracks: policing routes for restricted chips and building systems around domestic alternatives. Huawei said it would launch new “superpods” in late 2026 and late 2027; the systems are interconnected computers that combine the power of thousands of chips.