Three Supermicro employees charged in $2.5bn chip smuggling scheme

March 20, 2026

Three Supermicro employees face charges of conspiracy to smuggle restricted Nvidia H100, H200 and B200 chips to China. The alleged $2.5 billion scheme used dummy boxes, fake labels and a pass-through company. TechRadar describes it as the biggest heist of the US-China chip war.

Three men, identified as Supermicro employees, have been charged with conspiracy to smuggle restricted Nvidia H100, H200 and B200 GPUs to China, according to a TechRadar report published on March 20, 2026. The scheme is estimated at $2.5 billion and reportedly relied on dummy boxes, fake labels and a pass-through company to bypass restrictions. This case is framed within the ongoing US-China chip war, with restrictions on advanced semiconductor exports to China aimed at limiting technological advancements there. No further details on the individuals, exact charges or court proceedings were provided in the source. The report highlights the methods used to enable the smuggling operation.

Sources

• https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/the-biggest-heist-of-the-us-china-chip-war-3-supermicro-employees-charged-with-conspiracy-to-smuggle-restricted-nvidia-h100-h200-and-b200-chips-to-china-dummy-boxes-fake-labels-and-a-pass-through-company-enabled-the-usd2-5-billion-scheme
• https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/the-biggest-heist-of-the-us-china-chip-war-3-supermicro-employees-charged-with-conspiracy-to-smuggle-restricted-nvidia-h100-h200-and-b200-chips-to-china-dummy-boxes-fake-labels-and-a-pass-through-company-enabled-the-usd2-5-billion-scheme