Samsung Probes Employee Kickbacks Amid Memory Crisis

Samsung is reportedly investigating some of its employees in Taiwan for accepting kickbacks on memory shipments. This probe comes as the global memory market faces significant shortages and surging prices, impacting even major players. The company has acknowledged conducting interviews and making personnel changes within its marketing and sales divisions.

The ongoing memory crunch is creating a ripple effect across the tech industry. PC manufacturers are raising prices, and instances of package theft and fraudulent returns involving older memory sticks have surfaced. The demand from AI data centers is a primary driver, consuming a substantial portion of available memory and storage supplies.

Industry observers anticipate these supply chain disruptions and inflated prices to persist for an extended period, with projections indicating the situation could last at least through 2026. This sustained scarcity is affecting a wide range of products, from graphics cards and laptops to solid-state drives and older CPUs.