Applied Materials receives new subpoenas on China shipments to SMIC
- The company is under US criminal investigation for potentially evading export restrictions on China’s top chip maker SMIC
- The filing said the company had received an SEC subpoena and another subpoena related to China shipments from the US Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts
A federal investigation into semiconductor equipment supplier Applied Materials involving China shipments has widened to other US agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), according to a company filing on Tuesday.
The filing said Applied Materials had received an SEC subpoena and another subpoena related to China shipments from the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts in February. In November 2023, the Commerce Department also sent a subpoena “relating to certain China customer shipments”.
The company is under US criminal investigation for potentially evading export restrictions on China’s top chip maker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC), according to three people familiar with the matter, Reuters reported in November.
“I would call this the one, two, three punch,” said Deborah Curtis, a former US official at the Commerce and Justice Departments, referring to the various agencies probing Applied Materials.
The company also said on Tuesday that it had received a subpoena in February from the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, requesting information related to certain federal award applications this month.