Man handed 41 charges in relation to Nvidia chips case

A fifth individual has been brought before a court in connection with the Nvidia chips case, bringing the total number of charges to 41. The individual, 34-year-old Shi Bingzhe, faces a charge for acquiring the benefits of criminal conduct. Other individuals charged in relation to the case include Chinese nationals Aaron Woon Guo Jie, 41, Alan Wei Zhaolun, 49, Li Ming, 51, and Jenny Lim, 51.

The charges against the latter three include fraud and money laundering, while Li Ming faces charges of fraud and fraudulent trading. In July, four firms linked to the export of computer servers potentially containing Nvidia chips to Malaysia were charged with false representation. These firms, known collectively as the Aperia Group, are Aperia International, A-Speed Infotech, Aperia Cloud Services (II), and Luxuriate Your Life.

Wei was the group's CEO, Lim the CFO, Woon the head of sales, and Li the controller of Luxuriate Your Life. Following the investigation, the police issued a prohibition of disposal order against a $55 million bungalow and seized approximately $1 million from accounts associated with the probe. The case emerged after a US probe into potential circumvention of restrictions on advanced Nvidia chips by DeepSeek, a Chinese start-up, which purchased them from third parties, including Singapore.

Nvidia's latest financial results revealed that 22% of its third-quarter billings came from the Republic, making it the largest buyer of its chips after the US. In February 2025, then-Second Minister for Trade and Industry Tan See Leng stated that Nvidia's products physically delivered to Singapore represented less than 1% of the company's overall revenue, with the rest of its Singapore revenue not involving physical shipments.