Prosecutors Seek 12-Year Sentence for Samsung Chief

Police raid office of Samsung family residences over suspected illicit payments

Prosecutors seek 12-year sentence for Samsung boss in bribery trial

Rosalie Gross | 08 August, 2017, 01:48

The Samsung heir allegedly gave or planned to give a total of 38-million US dollars to former President Park Geun-hye and her longtime confidante Choi Soon-sil in various forms, including donations to Choi's organizations and a sponsorship of the equestrian training of Choi's daughter. She could face life in prison.

The billionaire scion of South Korea's richest family told the court: "I have never asked anyone, including the president, for anything for the company or my personal gain".

Special prosecutor Park Young-soo's independent counsel team, formed specially to investigate a massive corruption scandal that led to the country's first ever impeached president, demanded the jail sentence at Lee's final trial held at the Seoul Central District Court.

The group has rejected investor demands to restructure into a holding company and an operating company. The court will deliver its verdict on 25 August. Lee and others denied the charges, reiterating that the funds were to support horse-riding prospects with no intentions of providing special favors to Chung and that the contributions to the foundations and the sports elite center were unconditional donation. Park accused Samsung officials of lying in their testimonies to protect Lee.

Park Geun-hye went on trial in May. The prosecutors said he was the ultimate beneficiary in the scandal, AFP reported. The merger would have eased Lee's path to take over control of the entire conglomerate from his ailing father.

Lee allegedly offered $38m (£29m) in bribes to four entities controlled by Choi, to whom Park often turned for advice on policy, such as the security threat from North Korea. The National Pension Service (NPS) was then-biggest shareholder of one of the two Samsung units.

Lee and four other executives are accused of paying or promising Choi, who was handed a three-year jail term in June, more than $38m to win presidential favours and ease a controversial 2015 merger deal.

Former Bear Jay Cutler will play football again

07 August 2017

ASEAN, China officially approve draft COC framework
They said they have tasked senior officials to start negotiating on the Code of Conduct with China . The role of the Philippines as 2017 chair of Asean has helped China keep a lid on discord.

06 August 2017

Russia-US ties at 'very unsafe low'
Trump might veto or try to somehow shelve the sanctions, which were approved in a 98-2 Senate vote. The bill was passed by a veto-proof majority in the House and Senate. "The U.S.

Xbox One Spotify App Finally On The Way
Those sources say that the app is now undergoing internal testing, which meshes nicely with what we say from Major Nelson. Pictures posted on Reddit show Microsoft's Major Nelson (Larry Hryb) testing the Spotify app in his status.
06 August 2017

Jets owner Woody Johnson confirmed as United States ambassador
Johnson, who has owned the Jets since 2000, will now give up control of the day-to-day operations of the organization. This is not the first instance of an National Football League owner serving as an ambassador to a foreign nation.

05 August 2017

Jeff Sessions Wants to Stop Leaks by Targeting Journalists
"For the past several months we have made changes and are seriously ramping up our efforts". Members of the media will also be held accountable, Sessions warned.

Khamenei, Rouhani Disagree over Iran's Priorities
Iran has yet to issue a formal response to the sanctions imposed by the U.S. He will be sworn-in as the president on Saturday, according to Reuters .
06 August 2017

Venezuela's National Constituent Assembly to meet on Friday
Her brother, Jorge Rodiguez, a strong backer of Maduro, is the mayor of the municipality that includes the center of Caracas . Maduro, who has said he will use the Assembly to punish his opponents, planned to attend the opening session.

06 August 2017

Steph Curry calls out pro after breaking 76 on debut
And now the former NBA Most Valuable Player has added another feather to his cap - after making his professional golf debut. It could have been those 80, 90 talks I heard going into the tournament.

06 August 2017

British model drugged, stuffed in bag and 'auctioned as sex slave'
Herba is said to have kept the woman at the house for six days before dropping her off at the British consulate in Milan . Police say the model was freed after discovering she had a young son, which broke the vile group's rules to exclude mums.
07 August 2017

Israel seeks to kick out Al Jazeera
He has frequently criticised the news media, accusing outlets of seeking to undermine his government. However, Al Jazeera has denied such allegations and said that it is an independent media agency.

07 August 2017

Dolphins have reached out to Jay Cutler about National Football League return
Cutler, 34, played the last eight seasons with the Bears and was released by the team last March. The duo connected 521 times for 6,423 yards and 46 touchdowns during their six seasons together.

Iran's Chink In The Armor: Human Rights Sanctions
He has repeatedly criticized the slow pace of economic recovery since most worldwide sanctions on Iran were lifted a year ago .

Former Bear Jay Cutler will play football again With the Bears last season, Cutler played in just five games, as he totaled four touchdown passes and five interceptions. Cutler, however, is unlikely to save the Dolphins season or make them a favorite by any stretch of the imagination.

Eiffel Tower: Police stop man with knife defying security Although a French national, the man was born in Mauritania, an African Arab nation, in 1998. The man kept was wearing a Paris Saint-Germain football shirt.

Arsenal beat 10-man Chelsea on penalties to win Community Shield Following Arsenal's victory, Wenger was quick to praise his new signing, paying attention to the strength of the full-back. Arsenal have tapped the free agent market this summer and, like Liverpool, took a former Schalke player.

Vladimir Putin gets away from it all in Siberia The 64-year-old is renowned for his strong-man publicity stunts, which have contributed to his sky-high popularity ratings. As per the report, although he has yet to announce his candidacy, Putin is widely expected to run and to win comfortably.

12 killed in Nigeria church attack Unknown number of gunmen open fire inside a church in Nigeria's south, killing at least 12 and wounding several others . An eyewitness, who simply identified herself as a choir member, said that the church was dark as there was no light.

England vs South Africa 2017, fourth Test match, Day 3 Bounce became increasingly unpredictable as the third day wore on, with many deliveries skidding through at shin height. Morne Morkel bowled a marathon eight over spell from the James Anderson End, removing Alastair Cook and Tom Westley.

Scott Hend storms into WGC Bridgestone calculations Scott Dunlap (63) and Brandt Jobe (64) were one shot behind; Steve Stricker (63) and Marco Dawson (66) were two back. Hend will start Sunday just one shot behind co-leaders Zach Johnson (65) and Thomas Pieters (66) at nine-under.

Jaitley calls RSS worker's murder 'barbaric' The veteran BJP politician blamed the CPI (M) for the political attacks in the state on the RSS-BJP members. The commission also directed the state government to take necessary steps to stop incidents of lynching.

US Marine Helicopter Crashes In Australia; 3 Soldiers Missing It has a top speed of 351 miles per hour and has both vertical take off and landing and short take off and landing capabilities. An American military helicopter has crashed off the coast of Queensland, with at least three US Marines missing, feared dead.

Chinese Navy aids search for missing United States sailor On Thursday, China said it helped the United States search for the sailor, a rare cooperative gesture in the disputed waters. At the time the ship was conducting routine operations 140 miles west of Subic Bay, Republic of the Philippines.

Eric Bolling suspended from Fox amid lewd message allegations Fox News has suspended Eric Bolling following the report last night about allegations he send lewd photos to female colleagues . And our promise to you is that we will always strive to provide indispensable journalism to our community.

Battleground Asia: Vijender Singh beats China's Zulpikar, maintains unbeaten record His trainer commenting on Vijender as a challenger, "I don't think Vijender knows Zulpikar as much as he thinks he does". The political situation has worsened between India and China with the military standoff in Doklam.

Sean Spicer reportedly declines 'Dancing with the Stars' offer According to Page Six , Spicer has signed a deal with celebrity attorney Bob Barnett while he potentially negotiates a book deal . Spicer turned down the much-hyped " Dancing With The Stars " offer.

Southampton Legend Calms Nerves Over Liverpool Target Virgil van Dijk Staying The center back has been made to train on his own for the last three weeks, but Saints are still hopeful of ending the standoff amicably.

Uber knowingly rented fire-risk cars to drivers in Singapore The story relays an incident involving Uber driver Koh Seng Tian, whose rental burst into flames during a drive this past January. Uber's lawyers also assessed possible legal liabilities as well including possible violation of driver contracts, WSJ reported .

Prosecutors Seek 12-Year Sentence for Samsung Chief

Recommended