A Singaporean Chinese entrepreneur has been charged with involvement in a computer server export scam, with the amount involved reaching hundreds of million dollars. These servers may be equipped with advanced Nvidia chips subject to U.S. export controls. The case is currently under investigation by Singaporean judicial authorities and has attracted international media attention.
Alan Wei Zhaolun, a 49-year-old Singaporean of Chinese descent originally from Fujian, China, is one of the three defendants in the case. He has a strong background in the Singaporean tech industry, having operated and managed at least 15 businesses over the past two decades in areas including cloud computing, data centers, and network system services. This includes A-Speed Infotech established in 2003 and Aperia Cloud Services, which focuses on AI data center services in recent years.
The enterprises founded by Wei have collaborated with international renowned chip suppliers including the U.S. AI chip giant Nvidia. According to the official website of Aperia, the company is one of Nvidia’s preferred partners in Southeast Asia. Nvidia’s official website also shows that Aperia is one of its 31 official partners in the Singapore region.
According to Singaporean court documents, Wei Zhaolun and his co-defendant, Aaron Woon Guo Jie, Aperia’s Chief Operating Officer, each face two criminal charges, carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison if convicted. Both have been granted bail in March, and the next court hearing is scheduled for May 2.
Prosecutors allege that the two defendants made false statements to U.S. tech companies Supermicro and Dell, falsely claiming that the purchased servers would not be transferred to undisclosed third parties. However, investigations revealed that some equipment was rerouted to Malaysia and could potentially flow to countries restricted by U.S. exports, such as China. Currently, investigators are tracing the final destination of these servers after arriving in Malaysia.
The third defendant in the case is a 51-year-old Chinese national, Li Ming, who is accused of defrauding a server supplier in 2023 by claiming that the products’ ultimate end-users were a company registered in Singapore under the name Luxuriate Your Life Pte Ltd.
Singapore’s Law and Home Affairs Minister, K. Shanmugam, pointed out in February that the servers involved may contain Nvidia’s high-end chips subject to U.S. export controls.
While Supermicro and Dell are not currently facing charges, the U.S. has requested both companies to conduct internal reviews regarding their Southeast Asian clients. The U.S. Department of Commerce is also investigating whether Chinese companies are obtaining high-end AI chips through intermediaries in Southeast Asia.
With an extensive industry network, Wei Zhaolun has received support from former senior executives of multinational companies such as IBM, HP, and Oracle on social media platforms. During the pandemic, he was interviewed by local media, highlighting the increasing demand for digital transformation among small and medium-sized enterprises, which presented significant growth opportunities for his business.
However, in February, Wei and eight others were arrested by Singaporean authorities. Following the exposure of this news, Malaysian data center developer Exsim announced the termination of cooperation with Aperia in the Putrajaya area to maintain project integrity.
This case underscores the global nature of the technology product supply chain and reveals the practical challenges the U.S. faces in enforcing advanced technology export controls. As the investigation continues to unfold, more details are expected to emerge about how high-end equipment bypass export regulations to flow into China.
(This article reference Bloomberg’s coverage)