Malaysian authorities foiled an attempt to smuggle advanced artificial intelligence chips through the country’s main airport, customs officials said on Friday, in a case worth nearly $13 million.
Customs raid Kuala Lumpur airport zone, 72 servers seized
A customs team raided the free trade zone at Kuala Lumpur airport on June 5 and seized 72 servers reportedly bound for export to another Asian country, airport customs director Zulkifli Muhammad said.
Malaysia tightened export and transshipment controls on US-made chips last year, requiring strategic trade permits and advance notifications in cases of suspected misuse or diversion.
Malaysia tightens curbs on chip transit
The Southeast Asian nation, which is becoming a growing data-centre hub, is seeking to prevent its territory from being used as a transit route for restricted chips heading elsewhere.
“The servers were declared as ‘computer components’ to avoid detection from the authorities,” Zulkifli told a news conference.
The syndicate involved used Malaysia as a transit point to avoid restrictions during the export process, The Star daily newspaper reported.
Zulkifli declined to disclose where the servers came from, where the chips were manufactured, or their final destination, saying investigations were continuing.
A local logistics company involved in the shipment has been asked to assist with the investigation, he added.
The United States has tightened restrictions on exports of advanced semiconductors through Malaysia and Thailand in an effort to prevent their diversion to China.
Malaysia has also launched several investigations, including a probe into how servers containing US-made Nvidia chips intended for Singapore ended up in Malaysia.
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