Luring high-value talent from Taiwan to China is a favored way for Chinese companies to accelerate their own development. Taiwanese authorities have already banned Chinese investors from investing in the local semiconductor industry and opening offices in Taiwan. Bitmain has been suspected of violating Taiwanese laws in this area since 2018.

According to the Nikkei Asian Review, Taiwan’s investigative authorities are accusing the Chinese company Bitmain Technologies of creating two legal entities that recruited technicians in Taiwan with the aim of further moving to the PRC. Taiwanese engineers, according to Bitmain’s plan, were to participate in the development of components for artificial intelligence systems.

According to the investigation, Bitmain managed to attract one of the experienced Taiwanese engineers to the post of chairman of the board of the newly created Chinese company, and was tasked with luring former colleagues to China. According to sources, in this way, Bitmain has already attracted more than a hundred Taiwanese engineers to its Chinese projects, bypassing local legislation. The company is accused of setting up offices in Taiwan, hiding their origins and true goals. So far, investigators have not been able to detect an intellectual property leak as a result of Bitmain’s actions. The management of the Chinese company may now face criminal liability under the laws of Taiwan.