SINGAPORE: Three men accused of fraud related to the movement of Nvidia chips have been handed fresh charges in court. Singaporeans Aaron Woon Guo Jie, 41, and Alan Wei Zhaolun, 49, appeared via videolink, while Chinese national Li Ming, 51, had his case heard separately. All three were dressed in red polo T-shirts. Woon was represented by lawyer Cheryl Chong, Wei by Shashi Nathan, and Li by Wendell Wong. The court also amended their original charges. New and Amended Charges Woon and Wei now each face two charges of conspiring to commit fraud against server suppliers Dell and Super Micro. They allegedly made false representations in 2024, claiming the items would not be transferred to anyone other than the “authorized ultimate consignee or end user.” Li is accused of defrauding Super Micro in 2023 by falsely stating that the end user of certain items would be a company called Luxuriate Your Life. Additionally, he faces a fresh charge of unauthorized access to an OCBC corporate bank account on June 19, 2024, to make and receive transfers for Luxuriate Your Life—a company he controlled. Further Investigations and Extended Remand Deputy public prosecutors Ng Yi Wen and Kang Jia Hui requested an additional eight days of remand for all three men, citing the complexity of the case. Ng noted that investigators had uncovered more evidence, leading to the new charges. “Specifically, this investigation has allowed the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) to identify the two server suppliers—Dell and Super Micro—that the accused conspired to defraud,” said Ng. The CAD has seized 42 devices, including laptops, phones, and computers, which are still under forensic examination. Investigators are also analyzing bank statements to trace fund movements and are recording statements from additional persons of interest. International cooperation with foreign law enforcement agencies is being sought, though no specific countries were mentioned. Ng argued that Li’s release posed a “risk of collusion and contamination of evidence” due to his close ties with his wife and a nominee shareholder involved in the case. He also noted connections between Li and individuals who had left Singapore before or shortly after the investigation began. Legal Arguments and Court Decision While Woon and Wei’s lawyers did not object to further remand, Li’s lawyer, Wendell Wong, opposed the application. He argued that Li could not assist in forensic examinations and that the risk of collusion was “speculative” and a “bare assertion.” Wong also claimed the remand was a matter of “convenience” for investigators. Despite these objections, the judge granted the prosecution’s request, citing the need for CAD to complete its investigations. She rejected Wong’s request for Li to meet his wife, as she was considered a person of interest. Background of the Case Woon, Wei, and Li were first charged on February 27 after their arrest the day before. They were among nine people arrested in February during raids by the Singapore Police Force and Singapore Customs. The arrests followed media reports that intermediaries in Singapore were involved in illegally moving Nvidia chips to China, bypassing U.S. export controls. Nvidia’s AI chips are subject to U.S. export restrictions, and authorities are investigating whether Chinese AI firm DeepSeek circumvented sanctions through third parties in countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, and the UAE. On Monday, Singapore’s Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam clarified that the investigations were initiated independently based on an anonymous tip-off, not at the request of the U.S. or any other country. He stated that servers linked to the fraud case may have contained Nvidia’s AI chips, which were subsequently sent to Malaysia. “The question is whether Malaysia was the final destination or if the servers were moved elsewhere. We do not know for certain at this point,” Shanmugam told reporters. “However, we assessed that there may have been false representation regarding their final destination.” Singapore has requested relevant information from Malaysian and U.S. authorities to assist in its investigations. Shanmugam emphasized that companies operating in Singapore must consider other countries’ export controls when conducting international business and should ensure full transparency in their operations. He added that countries involved in the trade and supply chain must work together to enforce their domestic laws properly. Fraud by false representation carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison, a fine, or both.
