Micro Center, a US retail chain, now requires customers purchasing workstations with Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 graphics cards to sign a declaration. Buyers must provide their driver's license, social security number, email, and phone number, while confirming the hardware will not be exported.
The document mandates that the equipment must not be transferred to foreign nationals. Micro Center reserves the right to cancel transactions if the provided information appears suspicious. These measures follow export controls on high-end Nvidia GPUs that have been in effect since October 2023.
In a separate case, authorities in California arrested Greg Lui, who is accused of smuggling server equipment containing Nvidia accelerators to China. Prosecutors allege that Lui's company, Earthmade Computer, bypassed export licensing requirements between 2023 and 2024, with shipments totaling $300 million.
The investigation into Lui involves a shipment of 27 server systems with Nvidia H100 accelerators valued at $7.6 billion. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison. Meanwhile, reports indicate that the Chinese company Glory View Technology acquired over 700 servers, including 32 units with restricted Nvidia B300 chips.
