Malaysian customs foil US$13 million AI chip smuggling bid

Read a summary of this article on FAST.
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST
FAST

SEPANG: Malaysian authorities foiled an attempt to smuggle advanced artificial intelligence chips through the country's main airport, customs officials said on Friday (Jun 26), in a case worth nearly US$13 million.

A team raided Kuala Lumpur airport's free trade zone on Jun 5 and seized 72 servers that were reportedly bound for export to another Asian country, airport customs director Zulkifli Muhammad said.

Malaysia tightened export and transhipment controls on chips from the United States last year, requiring a strategic trade permit and advance notification if there is suspicion of misuse or diversion.

The Southeast Asian nation, as a growing data-centre hub, is seeking to prevent itself from being used as a transit point for restricted chips headed elsewhere.

CNA Games

Guess Word
Crack the word, one row at a time

Buzzword
Create words using the given letters

Mini Sudoku
Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser

Mini Crossword
Small grid, big challenge

Word Search
Spot as many words as you can
Show More
Show Less

"The servers were declared as 'computer components' to avoid detection from the authorities," Zulkifli told a news conference.

The syndicate involved used Malaysia as a transit point to ensure there were no restrictions during the export process, The Star daily newspaper said.

Zulkifli declined to say where the servers came from, where the chips were made, or where they were headed, adding that investigations were continuing.

However, he said a local logistics company involved in the shipment had been asked to assist in the investigation.

The United States has been tightening restrictions on exports of advanced semiconductors through Malaysia and Thailand in an effort to curb their diversion to China.

Malaysia has also launched several probes, including one into how servers containing US-made Nvidia chips destined for Singapore ended up in Malaysia.

Newsletter

Morning Brief

Subscribe to CNA’s Morning Brief

An automated curation of our top stories to start your day.

Sign up for our newsletters

Get our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inbox

Subscribe here

Get the CNA app

Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories

Download here

Get WhatsApp alerts

Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app

Join here