Five months after launching an investigation into the smuggling of $2.5 billion worth of Nvidia equipment into China, Supermicro releases findings and reports dismiss several employees. The company claims that an investigation conducted by an outside law firm and “Independent Forensic Accounting Consultant”revealed that neither the company nor its current senior executives were involved in illegal activities.
Image source: Supermicro
In March 2026, the U.S. authorities defendant Supermicro co-founder Yih-Shyan Liaw, sales manager Ruei-Tsang Chang and broker Ting-Wei Sun conspired to illegally transfer advanced American artificial intelligence technology to China. Three attackers are said to have smuggled $2.5 billion worth of equipment into China since 2024.
That raised concerns among shareholders, who feared a large portion of the company’s sales came from illegal trading, and led to lawsuits by some investors. In this regard, the company’s independent consultant also studied this issue and stated: “No evidence was found to suggest that the company’s previously published financial statements were deemed unreliable due to possible unauthorized trafficking of prohibited products.”
“Inspection group […] No evidence was found that any current senior executive was aware of the alleged pattern of unauthorized trafficking or of any actual unauthorized trafficking of goods subject to the company’s export controls, ——Supermicro said in a statement. — Corporate compliance officers acting in good faith and with the support of management reduce the risk of unauthorized distribution of the company’s export-controlled products to export-controlled persons or locations. “
While the independent investigation cleared Supermicro’s top management, it also led to the firing of several employees in sales, technical support and business development. Super Micro also said it was improving its export control program. The fact that some of its employees were able to orchestrate large-scale trafficking schemes within the organization raises serious questions about the effectiveness of its compliance department. The company said it had made the necessary changes pending the completion of the independent investigation and that its independent directors “Implementation of the remaining recommendations will be monitored.”
China’s high demand for artificial intelligence chips has made smuggling these products a lucrative crime, even as the United States tightens export controls and Chinese authorities require technology companies to prioritize Chinese-made chips.
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