US Treasury Secretary questions whether Nvidia used shell companies to bypass export restrictions

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged Nvidia to clarify if the company knowingly facilitated the sale of its advanced AI chips to China, emphasizing the importance of this matter over ex-CEO Jensen Huang's relationship with an alleged Chinese spy. Speaking on Fox News Sunday Morning Futures, Bessent inquired about potential use of shell companies to circumvent US export restrictions on the most cutting-edge AI chips.

The US restricts the sale of the most advanced AI chips to China to maintain technological supremacy. While the H200 chips were authorized for sale to China in late 2025, more advanced chips utilized in AI models, reshaping modern society, remain off-limits for Chinese purchase. Bessent stressed the need to investigate Nvidia's compliance with export restrictions and highlighted the investigation into companies linked to Megaspeed, a Singapore-based data center company.

Bessent did not express concern whether Alice Huang was a spy, focusing instead on the implications of Nvidia potentially using shell companies to bypass regulations. The US Justice Department is conducting a criminal probe, and Nvidia recently refuted allegations of such practices.