Yahoo Finance Samsung heir questioned over controversial deal
South Korean prosecutors questioned Samsung heir Jay Y. Lee on Tuesday (May 26).
He was asked about a controversial deal they say may have helped advance his succession plans.
The deal involves alleged accounting fraud as well as a widely-criticized merger of two Samsung affiliates.
The 2015 merger between Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries, where Lee is a top shareholder, cemented Lee's control over South Korea's top conglomerate.
And prosecutors have been investigating suspected accounting fraud at Cheil-owned Samsung Biologics after the country's financial watchdog complained the firm's value had been inflated by over 3 billion dollars ($3.64 billion).
A spokesman for Samsung Electronics, where Lee serves as vice chairman, declined to comment.
The questioning brings fresh legal trouble for Lee.
He faces separate succession-related charges of bribery which involved former South Korean president Park Geun-hye.
Lee was released from a yearlong detention over the bribery case back in 2018.
And earlier this month, Lee made a rare apology about the bribery scandal.
He pledged he would not hand the company founded by his grandfather over to his children.
