The U.S. government reportedly disregarded Singapore's requests for investigative assistance last year regarding Alice Huang, the former mistress of former NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, according to recent reports.

The New York Times reported on the 12th (local time) that the Singaporean government stated it received only "limited information and support" from the U.S. government despite making multiple requests for cooperation during its investigation into Huang.

Alice Huang is suspected of being involved in supplying NVIDIA's advanced artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors to China. Megaspeed, a company she operated, is incorporated in Singapore. Last year, Singaporean authorities detected suspicions of false reporting regarding Megaspeed's semiconductor server export routes and summoned Huang, who served as a company executive, for questioning. As part of this process, Singapore confiscated Huang's passport and effectively imposed a travel ban from June of last year through February of this year.

Concurrently, Singapore requested relevant information from Supermicro, a U.S. server manufacturer and a primary business partner of NVIDIA. However, Supermicro’s cooperation was described as "limited." Supermicro plays a critical role in the supply chain by integrating NVIDIA AI chips onto mainboards, combining them with power supplies and cooling systems to assemble complete AI server racks for end-users.

In July of last year, the Singaporean government raised the issue with the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), complaining that Supermicro was uncooperative, and requested assistance to secure the company’s cooperation. The government stated that, "Despite repeated requests, we have thus far received only limited information and support [from the U.S.] regarding the company."

Facing these investigative limitations, Singaporean authorities ultimately released Huang with a "stern warning" due to insufficient evidence, while simultaneously banning her from re-entering the country.

According to the NYT, President Trump had already been briefed last fall not only on the romantic relationship between Huang and former CEO Jensen Huang, but also on suspicions that Huang may be an informant for Chinese intelligence. Reports also emerged that the U.S. Department of Commerce was aware of signs of semiconductor smuggling by Megaspeed but failed to impose sanctions, prompting U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to directly confront Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick over the matter.

In response, the U.S. Democratic Party has demanded that the government preserve all materials related to the allegations involving the former CEO, foreshadowing high-intensity investigations when the new Congress convenes next year.

In a statement released the same day, Supermicro stated, "Supermicro has never sold any products to Megaspeed and has operated in full compliance with U.S. export and re-export control laws."

[ⓒ Global Economic Times. 무단전재-재배포 금지]