US probes Singapore-based Apex Logistics over Nvidia chip smuggling allegations

The US government is investigating Singapore-based Apex Logistics for allegedly smuggling Nvidia AI chips to China, potentially marking the first action against a transportation company for participating in the illegal semiconductor trade. Authorities are examining whether Apex transported AI systems made by Super Micro Computer in violation of US export restrictions, which were tightened in 2022 to prevent advanced AI chips from benefiting Beijing's military. Apex is cooperating with the probe, and its parent company Kuehne+Nagel confirmed the subsidiary's cooperation.

US probes Singapore-based Apex Logistics over Nvidia chip smuggling allegations Authorities are looking into whether the firm transported systems made by Super Micro Computer HONG KONG The US government is investigating Singapore-based Apex Logistics for its suspected role in smuggling Nvidia artificial intelligence chips https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/singapore/nvidia-chips-case-4-firms-charged-over-false-representation-accusations-s56-million-assets-seized to China, people familiar with the matter said, in what may result in the first action against a transportation company for allegedly participating in the illegal semiconductor trade. Authorities are looking into whether Apex may have transported AI systems made by Super Micro Computer in violation of US export restrictions, according to the people, who requested anonymity to speak about an ongoing legal matter. Nvidia chips are the industrial standard for training and running AI models, and firms like Super Micro assemble them into servers that are installed in data centres. Washington restricted sales of this class of hardware to China in 2022 due to concerns that advanced AI chips could benefit Beijing’s military efforts. But the rules have not entirely stopped firms there from acquiring the coveted components. The regulations spawned a sophisticated shadow trade that the US government in legal cases alleges has gotten billions of dollars’ worth of Nvidia chips to the world’s second-largest economy. Asian governments have begun to investigate this black market too, including in Apex’s headquarters location of Singapore, which has said it will not tolerate those who use the city-state to circumvent the export controls of other countries. The Apex investigation highlights how much of the supply chain Washington thinks may be involved in pulling off these illicit operations, which often see Nvidia chips pass through multiple countries on their way to China. It also sends a warning to freight companies that they, too, can be held responsible for shipments that breach the US rules. Apex is aware of Washington’s “concern for and interest in a small number of shipments that Apex handled in 2024 and which may have involved materials and equipment which were ultimately forwarded to prohibited locations,” the company said in a statement. The firm is cooperating fully with the US investigation and is “committed to complete compliance” with all relevant regulations, according to the statement. Apex’s Swiss parent company, Kuehne+Nagel, confirmed that its subsidiary is cooperating with Washington’s probe, while adding that Kuehne+Nagel itself “has not been contacted by the authorities”. Unclear how many chips potentially involved It is unclear how many Nvidia chips the US government suspects Apex may have helped divert to China, and the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, which is spearheading the probe, did not respond to a request for comment. This number matters for understanding the national security stakes: 100 servers, for example, could barely fill a corner of a data centre, while multiple thousands could meaningfully boost China’s resources in a foundational part of the AI competition https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion-features/us-and-chinas-ai-race-will-define-century . Super Micro declined to comment on Apex Logistics’ alleged shipments of its hardware. San Jose, California-based Super Micro does not have a direct business relationship with Apex, people familiar with the matter said. Rather, Apex handles shipments on behalf of customers that purchase servers, not the server makers themselves, one of the people said. The person added that Apex has introduced enhanced compliance procedures since the US investigation began during US President Joe Biden’s administration. An Nvidia spokesperson said that “we sell our products to well-known partners”, which “work with us to ensure that all sales comply with US export control rules. Our due diligence has helped identify suspected attempts to circumvent US export controls, leading to federal prosecutions”. For a while, though, chief executive officer Jensen Huang had insisted that the issue did not exist. “There’s no evidence of any AI chip diversion,” he said in May 2025. “The Grace Blackwell system is nearly two tonnes, and so you’re not going to be putting that in your pocket or your backpack anytime soon.” Apex’s web page for serving computer hardware shipping orders says that the company is “capable of transporting oversized cargo, ensuring protection against shocks”. Founded in 2001, Apex works across a range of sectors, including retail, chemicals and aerospace goods. In more recent years, the company has “transformed from a China-based logistics firm to a global freight forwarder”, Apex said in a 2025 press release. The US government began investigating Apex as that evolution was unfolding, the people familiar with the probe said. The smuggling routes that the US suspects Apex may have facilitated saw Nvidia-powered servers go from Taiwan to the US, then to an Asian destination outside of China before delivery to Hong Kong, the people familiar with the US investigation said. Once in Hong Kong, the hardware would be driven into mainland China. Washington’s probe is focused on one leg of that journey: exports from the US to South-east Asia. A person familiar with Apex’s response to the investigation confirmed that the US government first contacted the company with its concerns in late 2024, and then again in early 2025. The person said that Washington’s focus has been on a specific set of shipments that took place throughout 2024, each of which was labelled by two former Apex employees with a shipping code used to indicate that the hardware is not subject to US export controls. Those two people left Apex shortly after the company received word of the probe by BIS, the person said. Apex did not address the departures in its on-record statement. BIS is looking at 47 Apex shipments in total, the person said. It is unclear how many Nvidia systems were in each shipment. In multiple other chip smuggling cases, prosecutors have identified individual shipments in the range of 50 to 60 servers each. Apex declined to comment on the total number of Nvidia server systems across those 47 shipments. Apex lacks full visibility into how many restricted servers may have been in the shipments for which it arranged transportation, according to the person familiar with the company’s response, because it relied on the shipping codes and designations assigned by customers and the two departed employees. False documentation is a common tactic across chip smuggling networks, with defendants in other cases allegedly labelling restricted Nvidia hardware as other electronics, including generic labels of non-restricted “computer servers”. It is unclear whether the probe into Apex is related to any other BIS investigations, some of which have resulted in indictments related to smuggling of Super Micro hardware within the past year. Neither Nvidia nor Super Micro has been accused of wrongdoing as part of those criminal cases. BLOOMBERG Decoding Asia newsletter: your guide to navigating Asia in a new global order. Sign up here to get Decoding Asia newsletter. Delivered to your inbox. Free. 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