A California technology company owner has been arrested in the US over allegations that he helped smuggle more than USD 300 million worth of export-controlled computer servers containing US-made graphics processing units (GPUs) to China.
Federal prosecutors charged Greg Lui, 38, also known as Yiu Kong Lui, with conspiracy to violate US export controls, outbound smuggling and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Lui owns Earthmade Computer Inc., a technology company based in City of Industry, California.
According to the reports, “Lui and his co-conspirators allegedly used Earthmade to purchase high-end servers containing export-controlled GPUs between 2023 and 2024. Instead of sending the equipment directly to China, they allegedly routed shipments through Malaysia and Singapore.”
US prosecutors said, “The group used false documents to show that the servers were intended for permissible users and destinations. The equipment was then allegedly re-exported to China without the required US licences.”
The servers contained GPUs manufactured by US companies and designed for high-performance computing and artificial intelligence applications. The US government considers some of these technologies sensitive because of their potential contribution to advanced military and AI capabilities.
The indictment alleges that Earthmade received more than USD 176 million from two Malaysia-based shipping companies between January and October 2024 as part of the scheme.
One transaction involved 27 servers valued at about USD 7.6 million. The servers contained export-controlled GPUs and were shipped from Los Angeles to Kuala Lumpur. Lui faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison for the export-control conspiracy, 20 years for the money-laundering conspiracy and 10 years for the smuggling charge if convicted on all counts. The FBI, US Commerce Department and Defense Criminal Investigative Service are investigating the case.
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