Bloomberg said that the Supreme Court of India has issued an order for Samsung Electronics Co Chairman Lee Kun-Hee to make an appearance before the judiciary panel within the next six weeks to settle a dispute over a $1.4 million payment of a subsidiary of the South Korean company. The Supreme Court is currently handling a 2002 case involving Dubai subsidiary Samsung Gulf Electronics and its $1.37 million worth of coke calcination packages order from New Delhi-based JCE Consultancy. Bloomberg said the substance is used to make aluminum.
The 72 year-old helped build Samsung into the biggest technology company in Asia and the largest maker of smartphones, televisions and memory chips in the world. Lee's net worth is an estimated $10.9 billion based on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The news agency said that police could arrest Lee upon his entry in India should he not comply with the two-panel judge order.
In an emailed statement, Samsung told Bloomberg, "This case is related to a multimillion dollar fraud scheme perpetrated against a Samsung subsidiary in Dubai. Despite this, a private criminal complaint was filed by a party in India claiming to have received a bill of exchange used in this fraud. Chairman Lee has no relation to this case whatsoever."
Reuters said that JCE in 2002 was meant to provide supply products initially to Sky Impex Ltd and was to transfer them to Samsung Gulf. JCE said in a criminal complaint it filed in 2005 that it has not received any payment. Samsung's statement said that the perpetrators of the fraud were already convicted in Dubai two years ago.
"There are no grounds, let alone evidence, to support the accusation against Chairman Lee. We are confident that the Indian courts will recognize the innocence of Chairman Lee and deliver justice," Samsung said.
