Greg Lui, a California technology company owner, was arrested in a case alleging that more than $300 million in Nvidia chips reached buyers in China through false paperwork and shipments routed through Malaysia and Singapore. Federal prosecutors say the alleged exports took place from 2023 to 2024 and involved high-end servers.
The Department of Justice announced the charges on October 1. The source report says Lui, also known as Yiu Kong Lui, was arraigned and made his initial court appearance that day. The allegations place the case among recent federal actions involving executives accused of misconduct, including a CEO payroll-tax indictment.
How the Alleged Nvidia Shipments Took Route
Prosecutors allege that Lui and unidentified co-conspirators first exported the chips to Malaysia and Singapore. They then allegedly shipped them onward to Chinese buyers, including the Chinese government. The source report says those destinations were used because the restrictions did not apply there.
Authorities say paperwork described permissible end users and destinations that did not require an export license, although the chips allegedly went to China. The charges concern export-controlled computer servers. The reported charges name Lui and unidentified co-conspirators.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, of the Central District of California, said the defendant allegedly used false documents and third-country shipments to move more than $300 million in controlled servers to China. His statement frames the alleged route and paperwork as central to the prosecution’s case.
Charges and Potential Sentence
The Justice Department charged Lui with one count of conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act and the Export Administration Regulations. The other counts are one count of outbound smuggling and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
If convicted of all charges, Lui could face up to 20 years in prison, according to the report. That is a potential sentence, not a conviction or sentence already imposed. The source gives no response from Lui or his representatives to the allegations.
The criminal case sits alongside other disputes and prosecutions involving technology businesses and their leaders. Grit Daily has also reported on a startup equity claim and a separate technology procurement case. Those cases are distinct and do not establish facts about Lui’s case.
Federal Agencies Are Investigating
The FBI, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security Office of Export Enforcement, and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service are jointly investigating. The source does not describe further planned court dates or a timetable for the investigation.
Special Agent in Charge John E. Helsing of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service’s Western Field Office said preventing illegal exports of controlled technology is important to protecting national security. Helsing said such technologies provide core advantages to U.S. forces and that enforcement helps keep them from parties that may threaten the United States.
The allegations also come amid other reported export-control cases. The source says nine people were indicted in Taiwan last month over the illegal export of Nvidia B300 GPUs to China. It describes that matter as part of a series of cases, without saying it is connected to Lui or his alleged co-conspirators.
The United States and its allies have placed broad export restrictions on some AI chips and related hardware, the report says. China has said the restrictions strengthened its domestic AI ecosystem, while demand for Nvidia GPUs in China has contributed to a market for smuggled hardware, according to the report. The next concrete step in Lui’s case will depend on the federal prosecution and investigation now underway.
