Singapore Police Seizes Luxury Mansion in Nvidia Chip Smuggling Probe

Singapore Police has seized a luxury residence valued at 55 million Singapore dollars (US$42.5 million) was allegedly bought using proceeds from smuggling Nvidia artificial intelligence (AI) chips.

According to police, at least two-thirds of the property's purchase price was allegedly funded by illicit earnings. The home was seized as part of a probe into the alleged illegal trade in servers containing highly sought-after advanced Nvidia chips, which are subject to US export controls. An order has been issued preventing the sale or transfer of the property while investigations continue.

The residence, located in one of Singapore’s prime districts near the iconic Botanic Gardens, was reportedly acquired using approximately 38 million Singapore dollars in alleged criminal proceeds. Authorities have charged Wei Zhaolun, also known as Alan Wei, with money laundering in connection with the transaction. Wei serves as Chief Executive Officer of Aperia Group, a company that supplies servers and technology hardware to businesses.

In addition to the property, investigators have frozen and seized about 1 million Singapore dollars held in bank accounts.

The police said a total of four people, including Wei, have been accused since February 2025 over fraud and other alleged crimes linked to the case. The individuals allegedly placed orders for servers from global suppliers under the pretence that they would be used by companies they worked for.

Authorities have not disclosed the shipping destination of the servers.

The servers were sourced from major technology vendors including Dell Technologies, Super Micro Computer, and ASUS.

If convicted of fraud-related offences, the accused could face prison sentences of up to 20 years.

In a significant development, Singapore-based technology firm Luxuriate Your Life and three companies under the Aperia Group umbrella have also been charged. Authorities described the case as the first instance in which corporate entities have been prosecuted under investigations related to the alleged diversion of restricted technology.

The police said it holds a "zero-tolerance stance towards such offences" and will act against anyone who violates Singapore's laws to protect the country's integrity as a trusted global business hub.

The case comes amid heightened scrutiny by both the United States and Singapore over the movement of advanced AI chips. Since 2022, Washington has imposed export restrictions on certain high-performance Nvidia semiconductors due to concerns they could support Chinese military capabilities. U.S. authorities have previously identified Singapore as a key transit point used to disguise shipments destined for China.

Authorities in Singapore said in 2025 that servers containing chips under US export controls were believed to have been shipped via the island-state.

The US has since approved the sale of some of Nvidia's semiconductors to China, under certain conditions.