South Korean court denies arrest warrant against Samsung heir in fraud case

Prosecutors last week asked the court to issue an arrest warrant for the 51-year-old Lee, as part of a probe into alleged accounting fraud

A South Korean court on Tuesday denied an arrest warrant request for Samsung Group heir Jay Y. Lee after prosecutors accused him of accounting fraud and stock manipulation. The ruling provided temporary relief for the vice chairman of Samsung Electronics. But he may face further pressure from the case at a time when the world’s top maker of smartphones and memory chips contends with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on demand.

Shares in Samsung Group affiliates rose broadly in early Tuesday trade, with Samsung Electronics rising 2%, Samsung BioLogicsup 2.4%, and Samsung C&T climbing 2.2% compared to a 1.2% rise in the benchmark.

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Prosecutors last week asked the court to issue an arrest warrant for the 51-year-old Lee, as part of a probe into alleged accounting fraud involving a Samsung drugs affiliate and a 2015 merger of two other affiliates. They said the fraudulent accounting, and alleged stock manipulation, helped facilitate Lee’s plan to assume greater control of the group.

“It appears that prosecutors have secured considerable amount of evidence through their investigation, but they fell short of explaining the validity to detain Lee,” the Seoul Central District Court said in a statement….