Two Chinese citizens, Chuan Geng and Shiwei Yang, have been accused by U.S. officials of violating American export restrictions by illegally exporting cutting-edge Nvidia AI chips to China.
On Tuesday, the Justice Department stated that between October 2022 and July 2025, the pair “knowingly and willfully” sent high-end graphics processing units (GPUs), notably Nvidia’s H100 processors, to China via third countries like Singapore and Malaysia. These exports happened sans the necessary permits from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Two 28-year-old people named Geng and Yang coordinated at least 21 shipments via California-based company ALX Solutions Inc. Prosecutors claimed certain exports were wrongly tagged to go unnoticed. One consignment in December 2024 comprised Nvidia’s top-tier H100 GPUs, regarded as the strongest artificial intelligence processors in the world.
During a search of ALX’s office and the suspects’ phones, authorities found incriminating communications, including messages about routing chips across Malaysia to circumvent American restrictions. Early 2024 saw financial records reveal a $1 million transaction between the company and Hong Kong and Chinese businesses.
Should they be found guilty under the Export Control Reform Act, both males could serve up to 20 years in prison.
The investigation was welcomed by Santa Clara-based Nvidia. “Smuggling is a nonstarter,” the business said, stressing that it sells its goods via reliable partners who adhere to export rules. Nvidia remarked that diverted items would not be serviced or upgraded.
The case underlines the bigger conflicts between Washington and Beijing regarding control of sophisticated technology, especially AI hardware. Citing national security issues, the United States has prohibited the sale of top-tier chips to China. China has reacted with its own technological restrictions, accusing the United States of using its power and thereby harming international trade.
Following talks with President Donald Trump, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang stated in a recent development that the U.S. had overturned its ban on sales of the H20 chip to China—a less powerful model geared for the Chinese market. Huang called the move encouraging global trust in U.S.-made AI equipment.
