US Arrests California Man for Allegedly Smuggling $300m Worth of Computer Servers to China
The Guardian
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Details
- Date Published
- 2 Oct 2026
- Priority Score
- 4
- Australian
- No
- Created
- 8 Oct 2026, 04:00 am
Description
Greg Lui allegedly used false paperwork to smuggle export-controlled gear from US to third countries and then China
Summary
This enforcement action highlights the critical intersection of compute hardware and global AI safety, specifically regarding the circumvention of export controls on GPUs used for frontier AI development. The smuggling of $300 million in restricted hardware underscores the challenges in preventing adversarial nations from acquiring the compute capacity necessary to train high-capability or potentially catastrophic AI systems. By utilizing transshipment points in Malaysia and Singapore, this case illustrates systemic vulnerabilities in international governance frameworks designed to limit the proliferation of 'Super Intelligence' (SI) technologies. The prosecution signals an intensifying effort by US authorities to treat AI hardware security as a central pillar of national and global catastrophic risk reduction.
Body
Officials say Lui used his company to buy and send items to China without the licenses required by the Department of Commerce. Photograph: Stefani Reynolds/AFP/Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenOfficials say Lui used his company to buy and send items to China without the licenses required by the Department of Commerce. Photograph: Stefani Reynolds/AFP/Getty ImagesUS arrests California man for allegedly smuggling $300m worth of computer servers to ChinaGreg Lui allegedly used false paperwork to smuggle export-controlled gear from US to third countries and then ChinaUS authorities have arrested a man accused of smuggling more than $300m worth of computer servers to China, the Department of Justice announced.Greg Lui, 38, of California, also known as “Yiu Kong Lui”, allegedly used false paperwork and shipments through third countries to smuggle the export-controlled computer servers to China, the justice department said in a statement on Thursday.G7 to release up to 100m barrels of emergency oil and diesel reservesRead moreThe servers contained “US-manufactured graphics processing units (GPUs) commonly used for Super Intelligence (SI)”, it added, using the Trump administration’s new name for artificial intelligence (AI).“Protecting America’s national security means keeping our advanced super intelligence technology from being used to strengthen our adversaries’ military capabilities,” the US attorney for the central district of California, Bill Essayli, said.“We will aggressively prosecute those who put our national security at risk for profit,” he added.Lui operated a technology company called Earthmade Computer, which he used to buy and send items to China without the licenses required by the US Department of Commerce from 2023 to 2024, according to the statement.The company shipped the items to countries including Malaysia and Singapore, where no such license is required, then illegally re-exported them to China.If convicted, Lui could face a maximum of 50 years in prison.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionChina, long seen as trailing the United States on cutting-edge AI, has been closing that gap fast.The United States has long tried to slow China’s progress with export controls on the advanced chips needed for cutting-edge AI, blocking access to top-end US semiconductors such as those made by Nvidia.Explore more on these topicsCaliforniaAI (artificial intelligence)ChinaInternational tradeUS crimeLaw (US)newsShareReuse this content