The US government is investigating Singapore-based Apex Logistics over its suspected role in smuggling Nvidia AI chips to China, marking a potential first action against a transportation company in the illicit semiconductor trade amid tightening export controls.
Washington’s ongoing investigation targets Singapore-based Apex Logistics for transporting advanced semiconductor hardware that eventually reached prohibited buyers in mainland China. The probe, spearheaded by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, highlights how complex global supply chains are exploited to bypass federal restrictions on high-end computing components.
The Supply Chain Routes and Super Micro Hardware Connections
Federal investigators are looking into whether Apex may have transported AI systems made by Super Micro Computer Inc. in violation of US export restrictions, according to people familiar with the matter who requested anonymity to speak about an ongoing legal matter. Nvidia chips are the industrial standard for training and running AI models, and firms like Super Micro assemble them into servers that are installed in data centres.
Washington restricted sales of this class of hardware to China in 2022 due to concerns that advanced AI chips could benefit Beijing’s military efforts. But the rules have not entirely stopped firms there from acquiring the coveted components. The regulations spawned a sophisticated shadow trade that the US government in legal cases alleges has gotten billions of dollars’ worth of Nvidia chips to the world’s second-largest economy. Asian governments have begun to investigate this black market too, including in Apex’s headquarters location of Singapore, which has said it will not tolerate those who use the city-state to circumvent the export controls of other countries.
Corporate Responses and Investigations Across Global Jurisdictions
The Apex investigation highlights how much of the supply chain Washington thinks may be involved in pulling off these illicit operations, which often see Nvidia chips pass through multiple countries on their way to China. It also sends a warning to freight companies that they, too, can be held responsible for shipments that breach the US rules. Apex is aware of Washington’s concern for and interest in a small number of shipments that Apex handled in 2024 and which may have involved materials and equipment which were ultimately forwarded to prohibited locations,
the company said in a statement.
The firm is cooperating fully with the US investigation and is committed to complete compliance
with all relevant regulations, according to the statement. Apex’s Swiss parent company, Kuehne+Nagel, confirmed that its subsidiary is cooperating with Washington’s probe, while adding that Kuehne+Nagel itself has not been contacted by the authorities.
It is unclear how many Nvidia chips the US government suspects Apex may have helped divert to China, and the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, which is spearheading the probe, did not respond to a request for comment.
Broader Semiconductor Enforcement and the Black Market Scale
Prosecutors in Taiwan detained an Nvidia staffer as part of a probe into smuggling of advanced AI chips into China, according to multiple reports on Tuesday. In a statement on Tuesday, Keelung District Prosecutors Office identified the suspect by his surname, Chang, and said he was summoned for questioning after investigators searched his residence and workplace last week. The statement didn’t mention Chang’s employer’s name, but Bloomberg and Reuters reported they are an Nvidia employee and the search targeted the chipmaker’s Taipei office.
The statement added that after the questioning, the prosecutors determined there was a strong suspicion of criminal activity
and Chang was detained amid concerns they could flee, destroy evidence or collude with accomplices. The prosecutor’s statement does not accuse Nvidia or any other company of wrongdoing but notes that the detained employee is suspected of multiple criminal offenses, including falsification of documents. Forbes has reached out to Nvidia for comment.
As part of the probe, Taiwanese authorities detained several individuals in May and June—including several employees of Super Micro—a major server manufacturer which uses Nvidia’s AI chips. The detentions in Taiwan were made two months after the U.S. Justice Department charged and arrested a co-founder of Super Micro in a separate case alleging he and others had helped smuggle billions of dollars worth Nvidia AI chips to China.
In March, the DOJ announced it had charged three people, including Super Micro co-founder Yih-Shyan “Wally” Liaw, with one count of violating U.S. export control law, one count of conspiring to smuggle goods from the U.S. and one count of conspiring to defraud the U.S. The Justice Department alleged that the trio had conspired to illegally divert advanced servers assembled in the U.S. with sophisticated American AI chips to China. Liaw, who is a U.S. citizen, was one of the two people arrested. According to the prosecutors, the three men sold servers equipped with cutting-edge Nvidia AI chips—which are subject to export controls—to China through a Southeast Asian company. The alleged smuggling generated $2.5 billion in revenue for Super Micro. The server maker noted that it was not named as a defendant in the case and said the alleged conduct by the three individuals violated the company’s policies and compliance controls.
