Singapore charges fifth person in Nvidia-linked server fraud case

Singapore has charged a fifth person in connection with an investigation into computer servers that may have contained Nvidia chips and were exported to Malaysia. Shi Bingzhe, 34, was handed 41 charges on November 13 for consenting to fraud by false representation involving the purchase of servers. He served as director of Superphi and chief operating officer of NJ Global Financial when the two companies allegedly acquired 917 servers from Aperia International across 41 transactions.

Police said Shi had reasonable grounds to believe the servers represented benefits from Aperia International’s criminal conduct, namely fraud by false representation. If convicted on each charge, he faces up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to US$500,000, or both.

“If found guilty of the charges, he could be jailed for up to 10 years, fined up to US$500,000, or both — for each charge.”

The broader case involves alleged transactions totaling about $390 million. Investigations into several companies and key officials, including Megaspeed International, began in February 2025 and remained ongoing as of Thursday. Authorities are examining whether servers exported through Singapore to Malaysia without entering the domestic market were subsequently rerouted to another destination, contrary to declarations made in Singapore.

Four firms — Aperia International, A-Speed Infotech, Aperia Cloud Services (II) and Luxuriate Your Life — were charged with false representation. Following the latest charges, five individuals and six companies, including two linked to Shi, have been hauled to court.

Singapore launched an independent investigation last year after an anonymous tip-off about servers possibly containing Nvidia chips being exported to Malaysia and possibly to an unknown final destination. Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said on March 3, 2025 that the alert did not come from any country or sovereign entity but was serious enough to warrant an independent probe.

The case comes as Singapore faces growing international scrutiny, particularly from the United States, over its role as a major billing and potential transit hub for Nvidia chips that U.S. officials say have reached China. The United States has imposed export restrictions on Nvidia’s most advanced AI chips to China since 2022 to curb Beijing’s AI development.

Nvidia’s revenue linked to Singapore rose to 22 percent in the fiscal quarter ending July 2025, up from 8 percent in 2023. Singapore’s trade ministry estimated that chips physically delivered there accounted for less than 1 percent of the chipmaker’s revenue.