Malaysia seizes 約19億円 AI chips at KL airport

The seizure points to a specific enforcement problem: goods moving through Malaysia with false declarations to sidestep licensing. Malaysian officials linked the shipment to an organization suspected in a June case at the same airport, where 72 servers declared as computer parts were seized.

The scale of the gap between reported imports and exports, cited by Epoch AI, illustrates why authorities are focused on transshipment rather than just end destinations. China customs reported 37億5000万ドル in server imports from Malaysia for 2024-2025, while Malaysia reported just 6億ドル in exports; the difference equates to roughly 150,000 units at the unit price of Nvidia's H100 chip.

Malaysia has required permits and pre-declaration for advanced US-made AI chips since 2025. The Epoch AI figures indicate the import-export gap has narrowed substantially since those transshipment controls were tightened, though this case shows the route has not closed entirely.