Supermicro is a well-known brand in the server and datacenter industries as suppliers of server hardware such as motherboards, rackmount chassis, and even fully-built servers. CNN reports that its co-founder and CEO, Yih-Shyan "Wally" Liaw, along with executives Ruei-Tsang "Steven" Chang, and Ting-Wei "Willy" Sun, were charged with diverting USD $2.5 billion worth NVIDIA AI GPUs to customers in China, breaking US export controls. The three are alleged to have done so through an ASEAN-based shell company that purchased the chips from NVIDIA, and diverted them to customers in China.

On Thursday, Supermicro released a statement, saying that it has placed Wally Liaw and Steven Chang on administrative leave, and terminated Willy Sun. "The conduct by these individuals alleged in the indictment is a contravention of the Company's policies and compliance controls, including efforts to circumvent applicable export control laws and regulations. Supermicro maintains a robust compliance program and is committed to full adherence to all applicable U.S. export and re-export control laws and regulations," the statement said. It added that the company is fully cooperating with the investigation. Supermicro stock dropped 11%, reports GuruFocus, before rebounding.

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