Taiwanese prosecutors have indicted 10 company leaders for allegedly smuggling U.S.-made military-grade chips to China. The parts, made by Texas Instruments and Analog Devices, were ordered under the name of Taiwan's National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology and falsely labeled "Made in Taiwan" to bypass export restrictions. Investigators believe the chips ended up with Chinese research units working on missiles and military radar.
The scheme involved former employees and trading partners of three Taiwan distributors for TI and ADI. They used their own companies to place orders, attaching false end-user statements that promised no re-export to sanctioned parties. Prosecutors say the distributors themselves were duped. The chips are high-speed radar and RF components, not AI accelerators, and are on Taiwan's strategic high-tech commodities list.
The defendants face fraud, forgery, and money laundering charges, with prosecutors seeking 2 to 10 years per defendant. Three main groups profited by NT$92.75 million, NT$135.83 million, and NT$108.11 million, while four others earned smaller amounts. Because Taiwan does not criminalize violations of U.S. export law directly, the charges rely on fraud and forgery statutes. Neither ADI nor TI has commented on the case.