In a significant fraud case involving Singapore-based firms, prosecutors revealed that $390 million worth of transactions are at the center of allegations that the companies falsely supplied U.S. servers to Malaysia. Three individuals have been charged with defrauding Dell and Super Micro by misrepresenting the final destination of the servers, which may have contained sensitive components such as Nvidia’s artificial intelligence (AI) chips.
The case has raised concerns due to potential links to DeepSeek, a Chinese AI firm under investigation by the United States for possibly utilizing banned Nvidia chips. The chips in question, if used by DeepSeek, could be the high-end semiconductors restricted by U.S. export controls. Although Singapore authorities have acknowledged the servers might have contained Nvidia chips, they have not confirmed if the chips were subject to U.S. export restrictions.
The three suspects—Aaron Woon (41), Alan Wei (49), and Li Ming (51)—are facing charges of fraudulent misrepresentation. Prosecutors also allege that Wei paid himself dividends totaling millions of dollars, while Woon reportedly received a substantial bonus. The case forms part of a broader investigation in Singapore into false representation, with 22 individuals and companies under suspicion and six others arrested in connection with the matter.
At this stage, Singapore authorities have not offered further details on whether the chips involved were high-end models, nor have they commented extensively on the potential connection to DeepSeek. Singapore’s Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam declined to speculate on the link between the two cases.
In response to the charges, Shashi Nathan, Wei’s lawyer, has requested proof from the prosecutors regarding the alleged fraudulent transactions. Lawyers for Li and Woon have not made public comments yet. Malaysia is also conducting its own investigation into whether its laws were violated in the case.
