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SINGAPORE is investigating if Dell Technologies Inc and Super Micro Computer Inc servers shipped to Malaysia housed Nvidia Corp chips barred from China.
According to reports in Straits Times, an anonymous tip-off about computer servers that might contain Nvidia chips being exported to Malaysia, and possibly to an unknown destination, sparked off the police investigation.
According to Reuters, three men, including a Chinese national, were charged with fraud last week in Singapore.
Investigations into the three men were carried out independently by Singapore after authorities received an anonymous tip-off and not requested by the US or any other country.
Domestic media linked the case to the transfer of Nvidia's AI chips from Singapore to Chinese artificial intelligence firm DeepSeek.
"We assessed that the servers may contain Nvidia chips," said Shanmugam.
He said the servers involved in the case were supplied by Dell Technologies and Super Micro Computer to Singapore-based companies before they were sent to Malaysia.
"Whether Malaysia was the final destination ... we do not know for certain at this point," he said, adding that the authorities were investigating the case independently.
Shanmugam said Singapore has asked Malaysian and US authorities to share relevant information to assist in investigations.
“If the servers did contain US export-controlled items, we have told the US that we would be happy to work with them and support any investigations in the US on that,” the minister said.
The United States is investigating if DeepSeek, the Chinese company whose AI model's performance rocked the tech world in January, has been using US chips that are not allowed to be shipped to China, Reuters reported earlier.
Meanwhile, Malaysia's Investment, Trade, and Industry Ministry (MITI) said it is investigating allegation that Nvidia's AI chips are being moved from Singapore into Malaysia. – March 3, 2025
