Huang Renxun’s close relationship was exposed on suspicion of espionage. Nvidia asked a top law firm to investigate, which led to the NBA Clippers paying a hefty fine.

CEO of NvidiaJen-Hsun Huang Huida faced scrutiny from US officials and shareholders after news emerged that it had admitted to having close ties to Alice Huang, a senior executive at Singapore-based data center company MegaSpeed, who is suspected of working for Chinese intelligence agencies. Huida said on the 10th that it would be led by Vokir. Law firm Wachtel Lipton is conducting an independent investigation into whether Huida has been the target of foreign espionage.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Watcher. With approximately 300 attorneys, Lipton is one of New York’s top law firms. It often acts as transaction advisor to listed companies and is also known to conduct internal investigations for large companies and organizations. The firm has represented the National Basketball Associationnba Providing legal services, including investigation of scandals involving the Los Angeles Clippers and star player Kawhi Leonard.

The observer. Lipton’s report, released in September, stated that a total of 73 interviews were conducted and hundreds of thousands of pages of documents were reviewed during the investigation of Leonard, and it was determined that the Clippers, team management and Leonard repeatedly violated NBA salary cap rules in recruiting and retaining the star. After the report was released, the NBA severely punished the Clippers, stripping them of five first-round draft picks, fining them $30 million, and banning the team owner from participating in league activities for one year.

The investigation into Huida will be led by the Watcher. Lipton’s Jun Kim is leading the charge. Kim Joon-Hyun, a former federal prosecutor who only joined the firm in October, has held a number of leadership positions, including acting federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. In 2021, he was appointed by New York State Attorney General Letitia James to investigate the alleged sexual harassment of then-New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Huida said over the weekend that there was no reason to believe that national security had been compromised or that company secrets had been leaked, but that the investigation would review all available information. A committee of independent directors will work with the watcher. Lipton co-supervised the investigation. Gil Soffer, a former federal prosecutor who specializes in white-collar crime and internal investigations, said boards often hire law firms that have not done much work with the company in the past to demonstrate the independence of the investigation.

Soffer said that if the results of Huida’s investigation only involved close relationships and no dishonesty or sensitive information was leaked, the board of directors could take only mild disciplinary measures; But Huang can also be removed if serious misconduct is found. “These allegations are very serious and the company cannot simply let them go,” he said. “The board has a responsibility to protect the company and its shareholders, so these allegations must be thoroughly investigated.”