Singapore is investigating whether Dell Technologies Inc and Super Micro Computer Inc servers shipped to Malaysia housed Nvidia Corp chips barred from China, outlining a case that’s highlighted the role of middlemen in funnelling high-end semiconductors.
The country’s law minister on Monday outlined specifics of the probe after local media reported police arrested several people for their alleged roles in procuring and shipping Nvidia chips in violation of US sanctions. They stand accused of misleading server suppliers of the actual end-users of the hardware, which were shipped from Singapore to Malaysia, Law Minister K Shanmugam told reporters. Authorities are now investigating if the servers, made by Dell and Super Micro, made their way to other countries, he said.
The case is casting a spotlight on Singapore-based entities’ role in channelling Nvidia chips to China and potentially other countries restricted by the US. The case comes weeks after Bloomberg News reported that the US was investigating whether Chinese artificial intelligence sensation DeepSeek had circumvented US chip curbs with help of third parties in Singapore.
Singapore has requested further information from Malaysia and the US to determine the final destination of the servers, Shanmugam said.
“The question is whether Malaysia was a final destination or from Malaysia it went to somewhere else, which we do not know for certain at this point,” he said.
A preliminary investigation found that the chips in those servers could potentially subject the devices to US export restrictions. “We assessed that the servers may contain Nvidia chips,” Shanmugam said, stopping short of confirming that.
Nvidia relies on companies such as Dell, Super Micro and Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. to make the servers that house its coveted AI chips. Those companies then sell the servers either directly or through intermediaries to data centre operators across the world.
Super Micro and Dell were already among companies scrutinised for their potential role in how Nvidia chips subject to US export controls end up in China. Nvidia asked Super Micro and Dell to audit customers in Southeast Asia to verify that they still possess the Nvidia-powered servers they bought, the Information reported in December, citing a person close to the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Shanmugam didn’t link the case directly to DeepSeek or any Chinese buyer because the investigation is still ongoing.
He also said the case isn’t tied directly to US export controls, saying the fraud investigation is an independent probe conducted by Singapore after receiving an anonymous tip off, rather than request from a sovereign country.
Washington has for years been trying to crack down on China’s ability to access restricted technology via third countries, most recently by expanding semiconductor trade curbs to cover most of the world. Those latest rules — which the Trump administration is currently reviewing — establish maximum thresholds for the AI computing power than can be exported to places from Southeast Asia to the Middle East, where US officials are worried about Beijing’s influence.
Early signs indicate that the Trump administration will intensify those efforts. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick suggested that Chinese AI startup DeepSeek evaded US export controls to build its R1 model and pledged a “very strong” response. Trump officials are currently investigating whether DeepSeek managed to access advanced Nvidia chips via third parties in Singapore, Bloomberg has reported.
A senior Singaporean official said last month that Nvidia chips that have been shipped to the country only accounted for less than 1% of the US giant’s revenue, even though the Santa Clara, California-based firm billed more than a fifth of its sales to buyers in the city state.
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