Three Men Accused of Fraudulent Transactions
Singapore prosecutors revealed on Thursday that a fraud case involving local firms supplying US servers to Malaysia involves transactions worth $390 million. Authorities have charged three individuals—Singaporeans Aaron Woon, 41, and Alan Wei, 49, along with Chinese national Li Ming, 51—with misrepresenting the final destination of Dell and Super Micro servers.
Singapore media reports have linked the case to the possible transfer of Nvidia artificial intelligence (AI) chips to Chinese AI firm DeepSeek. The US is currently investigating whether DeepSeek, known for its groundbreaking AI model, has been using restricted US-made chips.
Nvidia Chip Link Under Investigation
Singaporean authorities have acknowledged that the servers in question may have contained Nvidia chips. However, they have not confirmed whether these were high-end semiconductors subject to US export controls. When asked about a potential connection to DeepSeek, Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam declined to speculate.
Prosecutors disclosed that Wei allegedly paid himself dividends worth tens of millions of dollars, while Woon received a multimillion-dollar bonus. Wei’s lawyer, Shashi Nathan, stated that he is awaiting evidence from prosecutors regarding the fraudulent transaction amounts. Li’s lawyer declined to comment, while Woon’s lawyer has yet to respond.
Wider Investigation Underway
The case is part of a broader investigation into 22 individuals and companies suspected of false representation in Singapore. Authorities have already arrested six other individuals. Prosecutors also indicated that police are looking into whether additional suppliers might be involved in similar activities.
Malaysia is conducting its own investigation to determine if its laws were violated. The three accused men are scheduled to appear in court again on May 2.
With inputs from Reuters