Nvidia chip scandal: Singapore court adjourns US$390m fraud case as police examine new leads
SINGAPORE, June 27 — Investigations into three men accused of fraud involving the suspected movement of Nvidia chips are still in the early stages, with Singapore prosecutors requesting more time to build the case.
Singaporeans Aaron Woon Guo Jie, 40, and Alan Wei Zhaolun, 49, along with Chinese national Li Ming, 51, were charged four months ago in a case involving an estimated US$390 million (RM1.65 billion), according to a report published in Channel News Asia today.
The men did not attend Friday's hearing at the State Courts, where the prosecution sought an eight-week adjournment, citing ongoing investigations by police.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Phoebe Tan told the court police had been 'actively pursuing leads' and that the investigation had not progressed enough for a pre-trial conference.
While lawyers for Woon and Wei had no objections, Li's lawyer Andrew Chua questioned the need for a further delay and asked for the case to proceed to a pre-trial conference.
Tan said police had conducted 10 interviews since the last hearing on May 2, and had contacted both local and foreign agencies for evidence, with some responses still pending.
She added that police had examined only 35 of 53 electronic devices and were reviewing new documents that recently emerged.
Tan argued that moving to a pre-trial conference now would be premature, as the outstanding evidence could materially affect the charges.
Chua eventually withdrew his objection, and the court adjourned the case to August 22 with the possibility of setting pre-trial conferences then.
Woon and Wei each face two counts of conspiracy to commit fraud against Dell and Super Micro in 2024, allegedly misrepresenting that server equipment would not be redirected to unauthorised recipients.
Li is accused of defrauding Super Micro in 2023 and of unauthorised access to an OCBC corporate account for transactions involving the firm Luxuriate Your Life, which he controlled.
The trio were among nine individuals arrested in February after raids linked to suspected efforts to bypass US export controls and ship Nvidia chips from Singapore to China.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Police identify 2 women found shot and killed in Phoenix apartment
Police are investigating the deaths of two women who were found shot inside a Phoenix apartment June 26. Officers conducting a welfare check discovered Marquisha Williams, 36, and Tiwayla Spencer, 38, both dead from gunshot wounds, according to Sgt. Brian Bower, a spokesperson for the Phoenix Police Department. Police say the investigation began after a 911 call came in that morning from someone who reported not hearing from the occupants of the apartment — located near 24th Street and McDowell Road — for several days. Police were granted access to the unit by an employee of the complex, allowing officers to locate the bodies of the two women. "Detectives are working closely with the (Maricopa County) Medical Examiner's Office to better understand what contributed to this incident," Bower said in a statement. Bower declined to share further details, citing an ongoing investigation. Contact reporter Rey Covarrubias Jr. at rcovarrubias@ Follow him on Instagram, X, Threads and Bluesky: @ReyCJrAZ. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix police identify 2 women found dead inside apartment
Travel Weekly
an hour ago
- Travel Weekly
Major names with minor beginnings
Christina Jelski What's in a name? I found myself pondering this age-old question during a media dinner hosted by Minor Hotels earlier this month, while listening to Marion Walsh-Hedouin, the group's global communications director, share details about the Bangkok-based company's early days. That included background on the group's name, which had always struck me as an odd fit for a fast-growing hospitality empire that now spans more than 560 properties across 58 countries. And in an industry where names like Ritz-Carlton and Waldorf Astoria convey luxury and refinement, "Minor" seems understated by comparison. Minor Hotels' roots can be traced to 1967, when American-born entrepreneur William Heinecke founded Minor Holdings. That name wasn't born out of focus groups, a shrewd business plan or a prestigious family surname. Instead, the name came about simply because Heinecke was 17 at the time, so he was literally a minor when he started his business. Despite choosing branding that essentially advertised his inexperience, Heinecke managed to build a substantial portfolio over nearly six decades, expanding the Minor Hotels fold with brands like Anantara, Avani, NH Hotels, NH Collection and Tivoli. The origin story got me thinking about other hotel brands with names of similarly unconventional origins. Take Richard Branson's Virgin Group, for example. When Branson and business partner Nik Powell founded the brand as a mail-order record company in 1970, they landed on the name Virgin "because they were entirely new to business," according to the company's website. Like Heinecke, they had no experience -- as well as no shame about making that fact known. But from that humble beginning, Virgin has evolved into a billion-dollar empire spanning airlines, space ventures, hotels and many other industries. Naivete, it seems, can be an underrated asset in the hospitality industry. But sometimes, the universe intervenes to save founders from their own worst naming instincts. Consider Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, whose founder, Isadore Sharp, originally wanted to call his hotel chain Thunderbird Inn. It would have been a fitting title for the company's first location, a modest "motor hotel" in downtown Toronto that opened in 1961. But as fate would have it, that name was already taken. So, a relative suggested the "Four Seasons." While Minor and Virgin embraced their inexperience, Four Seasons stumbled into a brand that has come to be synonymous with sophistication, with Sharp declaring that "there was no vision, there was no grand dream" in those early days, according to the company. The luxury hospitality brand, however, hasn't forgotten its roots. The name Thunderbird currently graces the employee cafeteria at Four Seasons' Toronto headquarters, a reminder of what might have been. Can you imagine a parallel universe where well-heeled travelers check into the Thunderbird Beverly Hills, or a newlyweds rave about their honeymoon at the Thunderbird George V Paris? It doesn't quite have the same ring to it as Four Seasons, does it? These companies were all able to flourish and become leaders in the industry despite their somewhat humble stories of branding based on youth, inexperience and happy accidents. It may go against conventional corporate wisdom these days, but perhaps the most powerful brand story may be admitting you didn't really have one to begin with.
Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Bloomberg
Powell and Lagarde Count Cost of Trump's Turbulence
The global economy's concussion from five months of Donald Trump's presidency is likely to feature when five of the world's leading central bank chiefs discuss monetary policy in public on Tuesday. From tariff-related trade ructions to oil-price gyrations caused by Middle East hostilities, the question of how to handle the fallout from White House decisions may loom large as Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell speaks on a panel with peers from the euro zone, Japan, South Korea and the UK.
