According to a DigiTimes report, the Korean memory giant is investigating allegations that distributors in Taiwan paid kickbacks to Samsung employees to secure DRAM allocations. 

Almost every major player in computing is scrambling for memory capacity, with big tech firms signing long-term agreements with suppliers such as Samsung and SK hynix.

Smaller distributors do not have that luxury and are reportedly looking for workarounds to meet customer demand. Allegedly slipping cash to staff handling allocations appears to be one of them.

Samsung is said to be interviewing employees across its Taiwan operations as it digs into the claims. The company is treating the matter seriously, with DRAM capacity already stretched to breaking point by demand across PCs, servers and AI hardware.

Allocations are meant to be handled fairly at a time when every gigabit counts. That pressure is why the alleged kickback scheme is being viewed internally as more than a minor compliance hiccup.

The situation underlines just how desperate things have become. Samsung recently rejected a DRAM supply request from its mobile division, citing a lack of capacity, a move that raised eyebrows across the industry.

Manufacturers are trying to ramp production, but any meaningful increase in output is likely quarters away. Until then, the supply chain remains constrained, particularly in the PC market, where rising memory costs are already pushing up prices across the board.