Manhattan Probe Examines Alice Huang’s Ties to Smuggling Servers to China
Key Facts
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan is examining whether entities linked to Alice Huang were involved in alleged attempts to smuggle Supermicro products to China, Fortune reported on November 12, citing Bloomberg and an unnamed person familiar with the matter. It remains unclear whether this investigation is connected to existing cases involving the diversion of AI servers to China. No formal charges have been brought against Huang, Nvidia or Supermicro in this investigation, according to Fortune. The news comes as Singapore examines a separate route involving the purchase of servers and their export through its territory to Malaysia. This adds scrutiny to the supply chain for servers containing AI technology, as U.S. authorities pursue alleged diversions to China.
Singaporean police and customs launched an independent investigation in February 2025 involving companies and executives, including Megaspeed International and its controllers, on suspicion of possible false declarations when purchasing servers and other offenses. Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs said companies under investigation bought physical servers and exported them through Singapore to Malaysia without the servers entering the Singapore market. Police examined whether the servers were later moved from Malaysia to another destination contrary to what had been stated in the declarations. The Singapore investigation thus focuses on purchases, the export route and declarations, while the reported Manhattan investigation concerns entities linked to Huang and alleged attempts to smuggle Supermicro products to China. The ministry said its investigations into Megaspeed and six individuals are ongoing.
Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs said police requested information from Supermicro in its capacity as a U.S. server supplier, but received only limited cooperation from the company. At a meeting held on July 7, 2025, police and Singapore’s Attorney-General’s Chambers raised the matter with U.S. authorities. Singapore then formally requested U.S. assistance in obtaining the company’s cooperation and repeated its requests to the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation from September 2025. The ministry said: "Despite these repeated requests, Singapore has so far received only limited information or assistance regarding the company." This effort is part of the independent Singapore investigation, while no final outcome of the broader investigation has been reported in published accounts.
Regarding Huang, Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs said police concluded in February 2026, in consultation with the Attorney-General’s Chambers, that there was insufficient evidence to establish that she had committed offenses related to potentially inaccurate declarations. But it said Huang had provided information she knew was inaccurate, with the intent of minimizing her role in Megaspeed. As a result, authorities issued her a stern warning and barred her from returning to Singapore. The decision did not end the investigations into Megaspeed and six other individuals, which the ministry said remain ongoing. These Singapore measures remain separate from the investigation that Fortune reported was being conducted by the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office.
These developments come alongside a separate U.S. federal case announced on March 19, 2026, when prosecutors charged Supermicro co-founder Yih-Shyan "Wally" Liaw, Rui-Tsang "Stephen" Chang and Ting-Wei "Willy" Sun. The Department of Justice said the defendants conspired to divert U.S. servers containing AI technology to China in violation of export laws. The department added that the intermediary company purchased about $2.5 billion worth of servers between 2024 and 2025. According to the department’s statement, at least about $510 million worth of the manufacturer’s servers were diverted to China between late April and mid-May 2025 alone, according to the indictment. Fortune said the servers in the case were equipped with H200 and B200 modules, and that Supermicro was not charged in the case and said it was a victim of the scheme.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton described the alleged diversion schemes as generating "billions of dollars in illicit profits" and posing "a direct threat to U.S. national security." He added that his office would continue its investigation and prosecution. In a development related to the legal proceedings, Fortune reported that Liaw’s trial had been postponed to March 2027 after his lawyers told the judge that subpoenas directed to Supermicro could be material to the defense. The announcement of this federal case does not establish that Supermicro is charged in it, and its connection to the new Manhattan investigation remains unclear. The roles attributed to the parties in these matters remain within the scope of investigations and announced charges, not final court judgments.
The reported investigation news weighed on Supermicro shares, which fell 12% after U.S. markets opened on November 12, according to Fortune. EL7 data showed the stock closed at $30.43 on November 11, while Nvidia shares closed at $173.73 in the same session. Fortune said the company did not immediately respond to its request for comment on the report. Looking ahead, Nvidia said its fiscal 2027 third-quarter results will be released on November 17, followed by an earnings call. Fortune also reported that Liaw’s trial is scheduled for March 2027, keeping the federal case separate from the matter attributed to the Manhattan office.