NVIDIA counsel's email preceded Megaspeed probe pause

The case traces back to 2024, when the U.S. began investigating Megaspeed and NVIDIA after Megaspeed started importing hundreds of billions of yen worth of NVIDIA products into Malaysia. Megaspeed was building data centers across Southeast Asia to serve customers including China's Alibaba, which was legal in itself, but U.S. authorities suspected some of the chips it bought were being routed illegally to China.

The August 2025 email from NVIDIA legal counsel Tim Teter is the pivot of the story. According to people familiar with the matter, Teter asked for information and a meeting, invoked the name of Jeff Kessler, a senior official reporting directly to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and said he had permission from Kessler to make contact. When investigators declined a meeting, Teter replied that he understood from Kessler that NVIDIA could contact Commerce staff. The staff forwarded the email to Kessler, who replied that the case should continue to be handled in strict compliance with the rules, and Commerce held a meeting on the matter and reported it to law enforcement agencies.

The Justice Department subsequently asked Commerce to pause the investigation, and Commerce complied; the case was then moved entirely to the Justice Department. Sources say it is not unusual for Commerce investigators to speak with company representatives, but it is unusual for a company to say it had permission from a senior official to inquire about a case, and transfers from Commerce to Justice are also rare. Because Kessler was supposed to stay out of individual cases, his mention in the email raised questions about NVIDIA's ties to him, and sources believe the case was removed from Commerce's jurisdiction to preserve its credibility. Separately, NVIDIA's stock fell about 8% at one point after the revelations, and its board said it would start an independent investigation following reports that CEO Jensen Huang was a target of foreign espionage.