Malaysian customs seize 30 servers with AI chips worth about RM49.5m at Kuala Lumpur airport, the fifth case this year tied to one syndicate, Malay Mail and AFP report

Malaysia's customs department said on 28 October that it had seized 30 servers containing AI chips, worth nearly RM49.5m, at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malay Mail reported. AFP, via Gulf Today, put the value at about $12.1m. According to Malay Mail, officers found the servers on 15 October in a warehouse in the airport's free trade zone.

Officials said the servers came from “an Asian country” and were to be re-exported to another, Malay Mail reported. They did not name the chip brands, the countries or the destinations, because the investigation is open.

KLIA customs director Aspalila Ag. Tuah said it was the fifth case this year linked to the same syndicate, and that the syndicate used Malaysia as a transit point, according to Malay Mail. An official of the trade ministry's Strategic Trade Secretariat said the chips are dual-use items under the Strategic Trade Act 2010, and Malay Mail reports that they could potentially be used to develop military technology.

The case falls under the Strategic Trade Act 2010, under which, Malay Mail reports, companies face fines of up to RM20m and individuals up to RM10m or 10 years in prison. No one has been arrested, and the companies that handled the shipment have been called in to help.

The seizure follows US smuggling cases over GPU servers bound for China, and Taiwan's plan to make shipping restricted AI chips to China a crime.

• Reported Thirty servers with AI chips, worth nearly RM49.5m, found on 15 October in the KLIA free trade zone, Malay Mail reports. Malay Mail
• Reported The fifth such case this year, with the seized servers worth about $12.1m, AFP reports via Gulf Today. AFP, via Gulf Today