Two Chinese Nationals Charged for Illegal Export of Nvidia AI Chips to China

Two Chinese nationals, Chuan Geng and Shiwei Yang, have been arrested in California for illegally exporting millions of dollars’ worth of advanced Nvidia AI chips, including the cutting-edge H100 GPUs, to China without the required U.S. licenses. The shipments occurred from October 2022 through July 2025. Their California-based company, ALX Solutions, used transshipment points in Malaysia and Singapore to conceal the shipments. Investigations revealed incriminating communications about evading export controls. The U.S. Department of Commerce and FBI continue probing the case. Violation of the Export Control Reform Act carries up to 20 years in prison. This incident underscores concerns over smuggling high-tech chips to China despite tightened U.S. export controls since 2022. Nvidia emphasized that unauthorized products receive no support or updates, and that it primarily sells to vetted partners ensuring compliance with export laws. Malaysia recently began requiring trade permits for U.S.-sourced advanced AI chips due to similar concerns.