Singapore seizes $42m mansion in Nvidia chip smuggling probe
Singapore police seized a $55 million luxury mansion and approximately $1 million in bank funds as part of a probe into alleged smuggling of US-controlled Nvidia AI chips. Four individuals and four companies face charges for allegedly falsely representing end users when ordering servers from global suppliers between November 2023 and February 2025, with servers reportedly exported to Malaysia.
What happened
Singapore police seized a $55 million luxury mansion as part of a probe into the alleged smuggling of Nvidia AI chips subject to US export controls. The property was allegedly purchased using at least 38 million Singapore dollars in illicit proceeds from the illegal trade in servers containing advanced Nvidia chips.
Reported impact
Four individuals and four companies face charges for allegedly placing false orders for servers from Dell, Super Micro Computer, and Asus between November 2023 and February 2025, falsely representing that Aperia Group companies would be the end users. Preliminary investigations showed servers possibly embedded with Nvidia AI chips were sent to Singapore-based companies before being exported to Malaysia.
Index analysis
The US flagged Singapore as a key transit hub for concealing illegal shipments to China. The case emerged amid US investigations into whether Chinese start-up DeepSeek had circumvented US restrictions on advanced Nvidia chips by purchasing them through third parties in other countries, including Singapore.
Governance controls
Singapore police issued a prohibition of disposal order against the bungalow during the investigation. Authorities also seized approximately $1 million held in bank accounts under investigation.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.