HOUSTON — Federal authorities have dismantled a sophisticated smuggling network that illegally exported at least $160 million worth of advanced Nvidia artificial intelligence chips to China and other restricted countries, with a Houston-based company at the center of the operation, the Department of Justice announced.
Two businessmen are in custody, while a Houston-area company and its owner have already pleaded guilty in the case prosecutors are calling “Operation Gatekeeper,” according to U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei for the Southern District of Texas.
The network received more than $50 million in overseas payments and moved export-controlled chips including Nvidia’s advanced H200 GPUs to China, Hong Kong, and other restricted destinations, according to federal prosecutors…