Singapore barred Alice Huang from re-entry following investigation

SINGAPORE: Alice Huang, the alleged Chinese spy at the heart of a scandal at chipmaker Nvidia , left Singapore in February and was barred from re-entering following an investigation into possible offences, Singapore's home affairs ministry said on Thursday.

Nvidia said on Thursday that its chief executive officer Jensen Huang is stepping down, as pressure has mounted on him in recent days after reports said the 63-year-old, who is married, had an affair with Alice Huang, whom US authorities suspect of spying for Beijing.

The ministry said Alice Huang, a former executive at Nvidia customer Megaspeed, was investigated for possible offences including buying servers that were exported via Singapore to Malaysia without entering the Singapore market.

She was investigated "for suspected involvement in the possible offences in Singapore, given her position as then-CEO, chairperson, and one of the key controllers of Megaspeed," the ministry said in a statement. It said the investigation did not concern espionage.

The ministry said there was insufficient evidence to establish that Alice Huang had committed any offences, but it said she had provided police with "information, which she knew to be inaccurate" during the investigation and had downplayed her role in Megaspeed.

She was issued a stern warning and barred from re-entering the country, it said.