Taiwan prosecutors detain Super Micro employees over chip exports

Investing.com -- Taiwanese prosecutors detained two Super Micro Computer Inc. employees on Wednesday following a raid of the company's local offices earlier this week over alleged shipments of Nvidia Corp. chips to China, according to a Bloomberg report early Wednesday.

Prosecutors are investigating four Super Micro employees for falsifying documents and breach of trust. The Keelung District Court approved the detention of two employees, while two others were released on bail but restricted from leaving Taiwan.

A manager at Super Micro distributor Albatron Technology Co. was also detained. Albatron confirmed the detention in a filing on Wednesday. An employee of data center operator Chief Telecom Inc. was questioned earlier this week.

Local investigators raided the residences of all six individuals and the offices of Super Micro, Albatron and Chief Telecom on Monday as part of an ongoing China chip smuggling probe.

Super Micro said on Monday it continues to cooperate with law enforcement and government officials in Taiwan and other jurisdictions.

Super Micro shares fell 8% in the U.S. on Monday following news of the raids. The stock recovered some losses on Tuesday and traded about 1% lower in pre-market on Wednesday.

The detentions this week add to three other detentions in May connected to the investigation. Those detained in May are suspected of sending at least one batch of Nvidia chips to China and attempting to export around 50 servers that were seized before leaving the island.

Taiwan does not currently treat AI chip exports to China as a crime.

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