Prosecutors in Taiwan said they have carried out search and seizure operations on properties belonging to former TSMC senior vice president Lo Wei-Jen, amid a lawsuit over Lo’s move to join competitor Intel.
Lo, 75, worked at Intel for 18 years, then moved to TSMC in 2004 for a further 21 years, before retiring and returning to Intel earlier in October 2025.
TSMC’s lawsuit in Taiwan’s Intellectual Property and Commercial Court accused him of providing confidential documents on sub-2-nanometre manufacturing processes to Intel in breach of intellectual property and national security laws, which Intel denied.
Raids
Prosecutors said that after opening a separate case review on 18 November, they secured court warrants to search Lo’s residences in Taipei and Hsinchu, where on 26 November they seized computers, USB drives and other materials.
They also obtained court approval to freeze Lo’s stock holdings and real-estate assets under Article 133, Paragraph 2 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
The prosecutor’s office said it would pursue the case with “impartiality and diligence” and emphasised the need to protect core technologies and Taiwan’s strategic position in the semiconductor supply chain.
Intel said in a statement that it had “no reason to believe there is any merit to the allegations involving Mr Lo”.
Controls
It said it had rigorous policies and controls in place that prohibit the use or transfer of any third-party confidential information or intellectual property.
It said Lo was widely respected across the semiconductor industry for his integrity, leadership and technical expertise.
