Taiwan Court Detains 2 Supermicro Employees, Albatron Executive in AI Server Probe

Supermicro said four Taiwanese employees were placed on administrative leave after being questioned in the investigation.

Packaged servers seized in Taiwan’s probe into alleged illegal exports of Supermicro high-end servers equipped with Nvidia chips. Taiwan Coast Guard Administration

A Taiwan court ordered two Supermicro employees and an Albatron executive detained incommunicado after prosecutors widened an investigation into alleged illegal exports of advanced AI servers to China, Hong Kong, and Macau.

The Keelung District Court ordered the detention of the two Supermicro employees, surnamed Lin and Wang, and Albatron general manager Lu, after finding sufficient evidence to detain the three on criminal charges and citing risks of flight and collusion.

Two other employees of Supermicro, a major U.S.-based IT solutions company with facilities in Taiwan, were released on bail.

Supermicro said in a July 1 open letter that four Taiwan employees had been questioned in the investigation and were placed on administrative leave pending the case’s conclusion.

“We have zero tolerance for anyone who violates the law or our internal policies,” Matt Thauberger, Supermicro’s chief revenue officer, said.

Probe Moves Upstream

Huang Chien-ming, deputy head of the Coast Guard’s Keelung investigation team, told NTD Television, sister outlet of The Epoch Times, that investigators traced the case upstream and found employees of domestic technology companies allegedly colluding in high-end server exports.

The task force searched 12 locations in Taipei, New Taipei, and other areas, and summoned six suspects, Huang said.

The June 29 search operation reached Supermicro’s Taiwan branch, Albatron Technology Co., Chief Telecom Inc., and residences tied to the case, according to the Keelung District Prosecutors Office.

Prosecutors said the six people were summoned on suspicion of document forgery and breach of trust.

The case began in May, when Keelung prosecutors and the Taiwan Coast Guard said investigators intercepted more than 50 Supermicro high-end AI servers equipped with Nvidia chips before they left Taiwan, along with phones, computers, account books, luxury cars, and more than NT$9 million (about $280,000) in cash.

Prosecutors said three Taiwanese men detained in May allegedly knew the servers were subject to strict U.S. controls and were prohibited from sale to China, Hong Kong, and Macau, but bought them in Taiwan and used false documents to declare them for export. In June, prosecutors summoned six additional suspects in connection with the case, including three who were later detained.

Supermicro Disputes Raid Reports

Supermicro stated its Taiwan offices were not raided by government authorities.

Thauberger said the company coordinated with authorities to provide access to the employees’ desks and electronic devices, and said relevant authorities had confirmed that Supermicro is not a target of the investigation.

The company said it has been providing information to Taiwanese authorities for several months.

Public records do not show that Supermicro, Albatron, or Chief Telecom have been charged in Taiwan.

Albatron Suspends General Manager

Albatron Technology said it suspended General Manager Lu after he was detained in the AI server export probe, according to Taiwan’s Central News Agency.

Albatron stated that it had not engaged in server-chip transactions and would cooperate with judicial authorities. The company said its operations remained normal and that the case had no material effect on its finances or business.

Broker Risk

Lo Huai-chia, former executive director of the Photonics Industry and Technology Development Association and former deputy secretary-general of the Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers’ Association, told NTD that legitimate companies can expose themselves to criminal risk if they cooperate with brokers instead of staying within normal sales channels.

Companies may face risk, Lo said, when orders exceed a customer’s stated needs and the seller does not ask where the extra products are going.

“Whether it is the government or industry associations, they should remind companies to follow laws and regulations in doing business,” Lo said. “That is the way to operate long term.”

NTD reported that industry figures described brokers setting up shell companies, using offshore routes, falsifying customs documents, misreporting product names, or listing false final destinations to try to evade U.S. export controls.