SC asks Samsung chief to surrender before Ghaziabad court in cheating case

Samsung seems to have run into some legal trouble in India as their chairman finds himself facing arrest in a cheating case.

The Supreme Court today asked company chairman Lee Kun-hee to surrender before a trial court in Ghaziabad within six weeks, reports IBN-Live , failing this the court has directed that an arrest warrant must be issued against the Samsung boss. This comes after the Samsung Chairman approached the apex court seeking that a criminal case and non bailable warrants issued against him be quashed.

The case which has been doing the rounds of courts since 2002 is based on a complaint against Samsung and Lee Kun-hee. The complaint states that Samsung failed to honour a payment of $ 1.4 million. A bench of justices CK Prasad and PC Ghose, however, directed that the arrest warrant issued against 72-year-old Lee for his non-appearance in the case before the trial court will not be executed for a period of six weeks.

“In the meanwhile, the petitioner shall appear before the trial court in session (hearing) of the case and seek bail and/or exemption from appearance in accordance with law,” the bench said.

The court, however, made it clear that it was not expressing any opinion on the merit of the case pending before the trial court.

The bench passed the order on Monday on an appeal filed by Lee challenging the Allahabad high court’s order dismissing his plea for setting aside arrest warrant issued against him.

A complaint was filed by an Indian company, JCE Consultancy, against Lee in the Ghaziabad court for allegedly cheating it of $1.4 million. The Allahabad High Court, dismissing a similar petition from Samsung in 2013, had called the Samsung Chairman an absconder and fugitive. It is interesting to note that Lee Kun-hee had be embroiled in a major corruption scandal in South Korea in 2008 where Samsung was accused of bribing judges, prosecutors and politicians in South Korea. As a part of the investigation the Samsung chairman had resigned in 2008 and was convicted by a district court which found him guilty of financial wrong-doing and tax evasion. Later, however, the South Korean President granted Lee Kun-hee an official pardon, following which he resumed the office of chairman of Samsung Electronics.

With inputs from PTI