South Korea has indicted Samsung Group vice chairman Lee Jae-yong over his role in a 2015 merger that made him heir apparent to the multinational's empire.
Samsung and Lee have denied the charges, which include alleged breaches of the country's Capital Markets Act and External Audit Act.
The transaction in question saw Samsung's parent company, Samsung C&T, merged with an entity named Cheil Industries for $8bn. Lee owned 23 per cent of Cheil, which owned 46 per cent of Samsung Biologics. But Lee owned none of Samsung C&T.
