Supermicro investigation clears CEO in alleged $2.5 billion smuggling scheme while a criminal trial involving a cofounder is set for next year

Super Micro Computer said on Thursday that an independent investigation led by its board found no evidence that current members of senior management knew about an alleged scheme to smuggle $2.5 billion in hardware packed with Nvidia chips to China.

The announcement was meant to clear the air for investors after a shaky five months following the U.S.

Department of Justice’s March indictment of co-founder and board member Yih-Shyan “Wally” Liaw.

But questions remain despite Thursday’s announcement of the investigation results; the server manufacturing company offered scant details about what specifically was found in the investigation, only that the board did not find evidence the CEO and senior management were aware of the alleged smuggling ring.

Meanwhile, a parallel probe by authorities in Taiwan led to four Supermicro employees being detained for questioning last month in connection with Supermicro sales to a tech company, and in June Supermicro got hit with a federal grand jury subpoena in New York.

So while the company’s investigation may be over, the government and overseas colleagues appear to still be digging.

Thursday’s announcement that the investigation had wrapped made no mention of the events in Taiwan or the grand jury subpoena and did not mention Liaw by name.

“They basically said, ‘nothing to see here,’” said Mark Newman, managing director at equity research firm Bernstein.

“There may be some more detail about the indictment later down the line, but I think SMCI is trying to bury this and not talk about it as much as possible.” Supermicro which was not named in the indictment, declined to comment beyond the press release.

The internal investigation was launched last April after Liaw was indicted for allegedly serving as the ringleader in the alleged smuggling operation, with two others accused of helping him.

Liaw co-founded Supermicro with Chairman and CEO Charles Liang and Liang’s wife, Sara Liu, more than three decades ago and served as a senior executive and board member up until the day his charges were unsealed on March 19.

Liaw has since pleaded not guilty and his trial was pushed back from November 2026 to March 2027 after Liaw’s lawyer revealed at a hearing in June that Supermicro had received the grand jury subpoena.

Given the senior position Liaw held and his long history with Liang and Liu, who both serve on the board, some investors have called for Supermicro to clean house with its management team.

The company on Thursday said it “took several personnel actions with respect to employees within its sales, technical support and business development functions, including terminations, for failure to follow Company policies or the Company’s code of conduct” in connection with the investigation.