US Arrests CEO of Earthmade Computer for Smuggling Nvidia Chips to China

The US Department of Justice announced the arrest of Greg Lui, CEO of Earthmade Computer, on charges of smuggling export-controlled Nvidia chips to China. Lui is accused of using false paperwork to mask shipments of servers worth more than $300 million destined for China.

The alleged scheme involved routing shipments through Malaysia and Singapore and ran from October 2023 to August 2026, according to the DOJ. Lui faces charges of conspiring to violate export control laws, smuggling, and money laundering, with maximum penalties of 20 years and 10 years in prison. The DOJ is seeking to seize all funds gained through the alleged scheme.

Nvidia stated that less than half of one percent of its products have allegedly been diverted to China. The FBI is involved in the investigation, though specific details of its role were not provided.

In 2024, Lui's firm allegedly received more than $176 million from the smuggling scheme. That same year, a shipment of 100 servers with Nvidia H100 GPUs worth over $22 million was allegedly documented with a fake buyer named 'Jackie Lui'. Also in 2024, an email discussed an order for 70 servers with export-restricted GPUs fraudulently claimed as destined for Malaysia.

Previously, an Nvidia senior manager in Taiwan was linked to a similar smuggling scheme allegedly run by ex-Super Micro Computer staff. At that time, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang urged Super Micro Computer to fix its compliance problem while claiming there was no evidence of smuggling. Since then, as more arrests have followed, Nvidia has pivoted from denying smuggling to downplaying the role smuggled chips and servers play in China's AI industry.