On a November day in Singapore, a 34-year-old man named Shi Bingzhe was brought before a court and charged with 41 counts, making him the fifth person to face justice in a case that has come to be called the Nvidia chips case. It is a story about the quiet movement of advanced technology across borders, where servers that may hold American-designed chips pass through intermediaries on routes that the law is now trying to trace. Behind the charges lies a US inquiry into whether a Chinese start-up had found ways around export restrictions, and Singapore has found itself at the center of a questi
Singapore Man Faces 41 Charges as Fifth Suspect Is Hauled to Court in Nvidia Chips Case
A fifth person has been brought to court in the Nvidia chips case
On a November day in Singapore, a 34-year-old man named Shi Bingzhe was brought before a court and charged with 41 counts, making him the fifth person to face justice in a case that has come to be called the Nvidia chips case. It is a story about the quiet movement of advanced technology across borders, where servers that may hold American-designed chips pass through intermediaries on routes that the law is now trying to trace. Behind the charges lies a US inquiry into whether a Chinese start-up had found ways around export restrictions, and Singapore has found itself at the center of a question about where the world's most sought-after computing hardware truly ends up.
On Nov 12, Shi Bingzhe, 34, appeared in a Singapore court and was handed 41 charges, one of them for acquiring the benefits of criminal conduct. He is the fifth person charged in what has become known as the Nvidia chips case, following four others who face fraud, money laundering and fraudulent trading charges.
The accused were senior figures at the firms involved. Alan Wei was then chief executive of the Aperia Group, Jenny Lim its chief financial officer, and Aaron Woon its head of sales. Li Ming, a Chinese national, worked as controller at Luxuriate Your Life. In July, the companies themselves were charged with false representation over alleged exports of servers that might contain Nvidia chips to Malaysia.
The investigation has already left its mark. Police have barred the sale or transfer of a good class bungalow worth about $55 million and seized around $1 million from linked bank accounts.
The case began with a US probe into whether the Chinese start-up DeepSeek had obtained restricted Nvidia chips through third parties abroad, Singapore among them. Scrutiny grew after Nvidia reported that 22 per cent of its third-quarter billings came from Singapore. Earlier, in February 2025, a minister had told Parliament that physical deliveries to Singapore amounted to less than 1 per cent of Nvidia's revenue. With Shi's charges now added, the case is widening, and what comes next is still unfolding.
On Nov 12, a 34-year-old man named Shi Bingzhe stood in a Singapore court and was handed 41 charges. One of them is for acquiring the benefits of criminal conduct. He is the fifth person to be brought to court in what has become known as the Nvidia chips case.
The four before him are Aaron Woon Guo Jie, 41; Alan Wei Zhaolun, 49; Chinese national Li Ming, 51; and Jenny Lim, 51. Wei, Lim and Woon were charged with fraud and money laundering. Li faces charges of fraud and fraudulent trading.
Their employers are part of the picture too. In July, four companies allegedly linked to the export of computer servers that might contain Nvidia chips to Malaysia were charged with false representation. Three of them, Aperia International, A-Speed Infotech and Aperia Cloud Services (II), are known collectively as the Aperia Group. The fourth is Luxuriate Your Life.
The individuals charged held senior roles in those firms. Wei was then chief executive of the Aperia Group, Lim was its chief financial officer, and Woon was its head of sales. Li worked at Luxuriate Your Life as its controller.
The investigation has already produced physical consequences. Police issued a prohibition of disposal order against a good class bungalow valued at about $55 million, which means the property cannot be sold or transferred while the case proceeds. They also seized about $1 million in funds from bank accounts linked to the probe.
The case traces back to a US investigation. American authorities were examining whether the Chinese start-up DeepSeek had gotten around US restrictions on advanced Nvidia chips by buying them from third parties in other countries, Singapore among them.
Attention on Singapore sharpened after Nvidia's latest financial results showed that 22 per cent of its third-quarter billings went to the Republic, making it the chipmaker's biggest buyer after the United States.
Singapore had already addressed the question once. On Feb 18, 2025, Tan See Leng, then Second Minister for Trade and Industry, told Parliament that Nvidia products sold to Singapore and physically delivered there account for less than 1 per cent of the company's overall revenue. He said the rest of the revenue billed to business entities in Singapore did not involve physical shipments into the country.
With a fifth person now charged and the 41 counts against Shi still to be tested, the case is widening. Whether more charges follow, and how the US-linked scrutiny of Singapore's Nvidia trade develops, are the things to watch.
Citazioni salienti
Nvidia products physically delivered to Singapore represent less than 1 per cent of the chipmaker's overall revenue.— Tan See Leng, then Second Minister for Trade and Industry, Parliament, Feb 18, 2025
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