Taiwan Seizes Nvidia Servers Bound for China

Taiwanese Offensive Against Nvidia Server Smuggling

Prosecutors in Keelung recently conducted a large-scale operation, raiding twelve locations and placing three individuals in provisional detention. This action resulted in the seizure of fifty Supermicro servers, valued at a total of 13.9 million euros, just before their shipment to China. Taiwanese customs officials successfully prevented an illegal delivery of advanced technological equipment.

The suspects, identified as You, Wang, and Chen, are accused of using fake export documents to transport these servers to Hong Kong and Macau. By launching this investigation, Taiwanese prosecutors are making a significant move in the fight against semiconductor smuggling, an initiative that has so far been primarily led by U.S. authorities.

A New Smuggling Route via Japan

Prior to this case, U.S. prosecutors had identified Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore as the main hubs for chip trafficking to China. However, in the Keelung case, the suspects allegedly innovated by routing at least one shipment through Japan before directing it to Hong Kong and then to mainland China. This route is unprecedented, as Japan has been collaborating with Washington on export controls for advanced chips since 2023.

The Taiwanese investigation was conducted without prior coordination with U.S. authorities. Two days after the raids, Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, visited Taipei and publicly criticized Supermicro for its lack of diligence in export controls.

Chinese Parallel Market: Exorbitant Prices

In China, the parallel market for Nvidia servers is booming. The price of an Nvidia B300 server has now reached approximately 925,000 euros, nearly double the price in the United States, which is around 509,000 euros. Faced with these high costs, some Chinese buyers are opting for rentals, paying up to 22,800 euros per month for a one-year contract.

Since 2022, Washington has intensified its measures against this illegal trade. In March 2026, Wally Liaw, co-founder of Supermicro, was indicted for diverting equipment to Alibaba, valued at 2.31 billion euros. U.S. authorities had already dismantled Operation Gatekeeper, seizing 148 million euros worth of Nvidia equipment from Texas warehouses.

In 2024, Nvidia generated 13% of its revenue in China, amounting to approximately 15.7 billion euros. In the parallel market, Chinese resellers charge over 555,000 euros for a batch of eight Blackwell GPUs, compared to the official price of 222,000 to 296,000 euros. Intermediaries are using data center operators in Malaysia, Vietnam, and Taiwan to circumvent restrictions.