Nvidia’s general counsel, Tim Teter, last year intervened in a US Commerce Department probe of Singapore-based data centre operator Megaspeed International, Bloomberg reported, a case that was later handed over to the Justice Department and focussed on a Megaspeed executive with whom Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang later admitted to having an affair.
Nvidia’s actions around the investigation raise questions around its influence on US policy.
Jensen Huang admitted on Sunday to having an affair with Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, one of the principal executives of Megaspeed, whom US authorities have concluded is a spy for China, according to a report late last month. Jensen Huang had previously denied the affair.
In late summer of 2025, Teter contacted Commerce under secretary Jeffrey Kessler, who oversees US export controls, to question whether the US administration played a role in Singapore’s then-recent detention of Alice Huang, Bloomberg’s report said.
At the time Alice Huang had reportedly been questioned by Singapore authorities and restricted from leaving the country.
Kessler’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) was not involved in the action. Teter was unaware of Jensen Huang’s affair at the time that he contacted Kessler, Nvidia told Bloomberg.
It’s unclear whether Teter made specific requests to Kessler, but in the weeks that followed the contact, BIS staff were required to route all requests concerning Nvidia through Kessler or to seek his approval for outreach, Bloomberg’s report said.
Contact with BIS agents
They were also reportedly told not to mention Megaspeed or its Malaysian subsidiary, Speedmatrix, in external communications.
Teter meanwhile reached out directly to BIS staff, including requesting a meeting with one employee, Bloomberg and reported.
That BIS employee declined the request, and Teter responded that he didn’t understand why, since Kessler had given him permission to communicate directly with BIS employees.
The employees forwarded Teter’s emails to Kessler, who told them to continue handling the case by the book.
The incident raised questions about what Kessler, who reports directly to Commerce secretary Howard Lutnick, had discussed with Nvidia, with some officials telling that Kessler had perhaps inadvertently opened himself to accusations of undue influence.
Criminal investigation
The case was quickly transferred to the Justice Department last year, in an effort to avoid any potential compromise of the government’s investigation of Megaspeed, a criminal case that remains ongoing, the reported.
John Rizzo, an Nvidia spokesman, said Nvidia consults with officials to answer questions, provide information gathered from the field, request guidance and instructions and ask if they have follow-up queries.
The US began investigating Megaspeed in 2024 when the company began importing billions of dollars’ worth of Nvidia chips into Malaysia to build data centres for Chinese clients, probing whether some of those chips were making their way into mainland China in violation of US sanctions, according to reporting by Bloomberg and the .
Chip sales
According to the , the requirement by Kessler and other department leaders that investigations into Nvidia and other outreach to the company receive their approval dates from the beginning of the Trump administration in January 2025.
The administration has been reluctant to impose restrictions that could limit Nvidia’s growth, and late last year, after lobbying by the company, moved to allow sales of Nvidia’s H200 to Chinese clients, in a move opposed by China hawks.