Malaysia Checks Whether Megaspeed Unit Re-Exported AI Chips, Says It Never Cleared Firm

The Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry (Miti) also denied that it had vetted either company. The ministry "has never cleared MegaSpeed International Pte Ltd or SpeedMatrix," it said, adding: "Any suggestion otherwise is inaccurate." Officials had visited data centres where Speedmatrix is a tenant, but the ministry said those visits were routine monitoring of the sector and not an endorsement.

Malaysia is now the third government drawn into the Megaspeed affair. Singapore has already brought criminal charges, and Congress has opened inquiries in Washington. The case has also engulfed Nvidia since Jensen Huang resigned as its chief executive this week. Megaspeed faces allegations that it helped route advanced Nvidia chips to China in breach of US export restrictions. It has rejected accusations of illegal transfers and has opened an internal investigation, according to Malaysian media.

Malaysia's rules have a gap that the case exposes. Speedmatrix brought its own servers and AI chips into Malaysia for its operations, and Miti said importing AI chips does not currently require a permit or licence. Since July 2025, companies have needed a Miti permit under the Strategic Trade Act 2010 to export, re-export, tranship or move high-performance US AI chips through Malaysia. The ministry also noted that giving false information to customs about such goods is a serious offence under the Customs Act 1967.

Miti said Malaysia does not enforce export controls that other countries impose on their own, but it expects local companies to take those restrictions into account in their international business. It said it would carry out its own checks based on the evidence and domestic law, and that it is working with authorities in Singapore and the United States to strengthen safeguards.

The ministry's statement went further than remarks earlier in the week from Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Johari Abdul Ghani. The Edge Malaysia reported that he said the government would review the matter and that Malaysia had not received any formal requests about the company from foreign authorities. He also drew a line between the two possible uses of the chips. Chips bought for a company's own data centre operations would give little reason for action, he said, but re-exports that broke applicable restrictions would warrant further scrutiny.

The government is also drafting a law to stop advanced computing hardware from being transshipped through the country, The Edge Malaysia reported. The law would be separate from the Digital Infrastructure (Data Centre) Bill. Under the draft, data centre operators and hyperscalers would have to disclose their identities, facility locations, electricity use and the number of GPUs they import. The aim is to confirm that imported servers and chips are actually installed in Malaysian facilities. Some companies are reported to have rented data centre space in Malaysia, imported GPUs and then shipped them abroad without using them locally.

The ministry warned companies not to misrepresent their dealings with government agencies. "Malaysia welcomes investment in data centres and technology, but will not allow itself to be used to get around export controls," it said, promising stern action against any company found to have broken Malaysian law. It did not say when the customs checks would be finished.