U.S. authorities, including the DOJ, charged three men for allegedly conspiring to smuggle restricted AI chips to China via Thailand.
The suspects – Stanley Yi Zheng, Matthew Kelly and Tommy Shad English – are accused of trying to purchase export-controlled chips without required licenses.
Authorities say the group used Thailand-based companies as fronts to disguise China as the true destination of the technology.
English allegedly placed a $170 million order for 750 servers (many with restricted chips) and transferred over $20 million as partial payment, though the deals ultimately fell through.
Officials warn the illegal export of advanced chips, critical for military AI, poses a serious national security threat, with evidence (texts and emails) suggesting China was the intended end user.
U.S. federal authorities have charged a Chinese national and two American citizens in connection with an alleged conspiracy to illegally export restricted artificial intelligence (AI) chips to China through Thailand, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on March 25.
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