SC gives six weeks to Samsung chairman to surrender

Samsung Electronics is accused of failing to make a payment of $1.4 mn to JCE Consultancy

The Supreme Court (SC), on Wednesday, ordered that a warrant of arrest issued against Lee Kun-hee, chairman of South Korean consumer electronics company Samsung Electronics, shall not be executed for six weeks from Tuesday.

The SC further directed that Lee Kun-hee, who is the wealthiest businessman in South Korea, shall appear before the trial court in Ghaziabad where a case is pending against him and may seek bail or exemption from appearance "in accordance with law."

The bench headed by Justice C K Prasad further clarified that the SC has not expressed any opinion on the merit of the case. The petition was withdrawn in view of the order passed by the court.

The SC order comes after Samsung chairman moved the apex court seeking that a criminal case and non-bailable warrants issued against him to be quashed.

The complaint against Samsung Electronics and its 72-year old chairman was that they failed to make a payment of $1.4 million or about Rs 8.4 crore which was filed by JCE Consultancy, an Indian company. The case has been going since 2002.

The Allahabad High Court, in 2013, had dismissed a similar petition and called the Samsung chairman an absconder and fugitive.

Earlier, the trial court had issued summons but in view of his non-appearance, a warrant was issued to him.

Earlier in 2008, Lee Kun-hee was found involved in a major corruption scandal in South Korea where the company was accused of bribing judges, prosecutors and politicians in that country.

Lee Kun-hee had to resign in 2008 as the chairman of the company as part of the investigation, and was later convicted by a district court that found him guilty of tax evasion and financial wrong-doings. However, Lee Kun-hee was later granted official pardon by the President of South Korea, and Lee Kun-hee moved back to office as the chairman.

Lee Kun-hee had also fought a battle with his elder brother, a sister and a nephew's wife who all wanted a bigger pie of Samsung.

This is not first time, Samsung had such troubles in India earlier as well. A few years back, it had to sack one of its key executives in India.

In May last year, direct-selling company Amway's India managing director and CEO William S Pincknet and two other directors were arrested by the crime branch of Kerala Police in connection with a case filed in 2011 in Wayanad, for an alleged violation of the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act.