Prosecutors Allege Horse Laundering in Samsung Bribery Trial

Prosecutors Allege Horse Laundering in Samsung Bribery Trial
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The South Korean trial of Samsung heir Jay Y. Lee for alleged bribery took an unusual twist Thursday as prosecutors said the company tried to conceal its gift of a 1 billion won horse ($885,000) by exchanging it for another animal, according to Bloomberg.

Prosecutors disclosed a series of text messages, emails and memos among Lee’s lieutenants to support allegations Samsung originally gave the daughter of a presidential confidante a horse for athletic competitions. Once media scrutiny began, Samsung agreed to replace it with another, they said. The charges came in Seoul Central District Court while Lee, the 48-year-old vice chairman, sat silently and occasionally sipped water. Lee and Samsung have denied any wrongdoing.

The case, which has been dubbed the “trial of the century“ in Korea, is exposing a murky web of ties between top government officials and the richest family in the country. President Park Geun-hye has been ousted from power and detained after the constitutional court concluded last month that she abused her power to funnel financial favors to longtime friend Choi Soon-sil. Lee’s ascension to the top of South Korea’s biggest conglomerate has been stalled as he remains in detention during the trial.

The scandal has implicated some of the nation’s biggest companies that have donated tens of millions of dollars to foundations controlled by Choi, whose daughter Chung Yoo-ra is resisting extradition from Denmark. Park, Choi and Chung denied they did anything illegal while Lee said he did not seek government favors in return for donations.

Prosecutors have alleged that attempts to cover up Samsung’s contributions show culpability. The prosecution said that money for the Vitana-to-Vladimir replacement was supposed to be made through additional payments to a horse dealer named Andreas, in addition to a regular service fee of 160,000 euros ($170,000) a month.

The court proceedings are scheduled to end by late May under a law that fast-tracks cases initiated by a special prosecutor. Detained outside Seoul, Lee faces allegations that he provided donations to Choi in exchange for government backing for a 2015 merger that helped cement his control over his $260 billion company. He has denied all charges.