The US has arrested another suspect accused of smuggling high-end computer servers containing export-controlled Nvidia chips into China. In a press release on Thursday, the Department of Justice accused 38-year-old Greg Lui of using false paperwork to mask shipments of servers worth more than $300 million that he allegedly knew were ultimately destined for China. As the CEO of Earthmade Computer, Lui allegedly conspired with freight-forwarding firms in South Asian countries like Malaysia and Singapore to illegally divert chip shipments into China, including Nvidia’s A100 GPUs and H100 GPUs, the FBI’s indictment alleged.
These are not Nvidia’s most advanced chips. However, the chips can process large amounts of data and train large language models, which the US fears could pose national security risks if China suddenly gets access to enough chips to drastically advance its AI or strengthen its military. Emails and bank records exposed the smuggling scheme, the DOJ alleged, which started in October 2023 and continued until August 2026.
One key piece of evidence is a 2024 email discussing an order for 70 servers with export-restricted GPUs that were fraudulently claimed as destined for Malaysia. After “Lui submitted a purchase order to a US manufacturer for 27 of these servers for approximately $7,614,000,” the DOJ alleged that a co-conspirator told a Malaysian government official that all 27 were shipped to China. A similar shipment of 92 export-controlled servers was allegedly routed through Singapore to Malaysia, then Hong Kong.
Finally, the chips went to a Chinese firm based in Hangzhou, the FBI alleged, which The Wall Street Journal last year described as China’s AI hub. Yet another flagged 2024 shipment shows how far Lui allegedly went to fool US officials. When shipping 100 Malaysian-bound servers—each containing Nvidia H100 GPUs worth over $22 million—Lui allegedly submitted fraudulent documentation from a fake buyer identifying its CEO as “Jackie Lui.” Three years prior, Lui “purchased the identifying documents of an individual whose identity is known to the grand jury and used this identity to conduct business transactions in furtherance of the export evasion scheme,” the FBI alleged.
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