Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent asserted that the Commerce Department possessed the authority to place Megaspeed on the export control entity list but stalled despite interagency support. Megaspeed has acquired advanced Nvidia processors while facing scrutiny for allegedly smuggling them into China, yet it remains unlisted. Meanwhile, Nvidia faces scrutiny over whether it adequately vetted buyers to block obvious pass-through shell entities. Bessent stressed that accountability must reach anyone responsible for letting high-end chips slip past national restrictions.
Key points
The Commerce Department holds the direct authority to blacklist Megaspeed but delayed act…: The Commerce Department holds the direct authority to blacklist Megaspeed but delayed action despite interagency consensus.
Investigators suspect Megaspeed acquired advanced Nvidia hardware to illegally smuggle re…: Investigators suspect Megaspeed acquired advanced Nvidia hardware to illegally smuggle restricted processors directly into China.
Scrutiny is expanding toward Nvidia to determine if the company failed to vet pass-throug…: Scrutiny is expanding toward Nvidia to determine if the company failed to vet pass-through shell entities purchasing chips.
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- Published
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has blamed the Commerce Department, run by Howard Lutnick, of failing to properly oversee the export of high-specification Nvidia chips, as the fallout from the scandal widens.
Jensen Huang left the company he co-founded after revelations he had an affair a former Megaspeed executive. The firm had been buying advanced chips from Nvidia.
Megaspeed had been probed by US government agencies over suspicions it had been smuggling those chips into China, reports said, but it is not on a list of firms that US companies are prevented from working with.
Bessent told CNBC several government agencies "were in favour of putting Megaspeed on the entity list for months".
"But Commerce has the pen... and you will have to ask them about their internal process," he added.
Bessent also said he was "frustrated" by delays in putting the company on the export control list and reports of leakage of AI chips into China.
"President Trump made it very clear that China should not receive any Nvidia chips above H100s, so any leakage is very…
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