Samsung boss Lee Jae-yong has been cleared by South Korea's top court of fraud charges, concluding a years-long legal battle over his role in a 2015 merger deal. Lee, the grandson of Samsung's founder and the de facto head of the company since 2014, had been accused of using stock and accounting fraud to try to gain control of the firm.

Samsung Electronics Co. Executive Chairman Jay Y. Lee was cleared of all charges related to accounting fraud and stock manipulation by South Korea’s Supreme Court, marking a major legal victory for the billionaire head of the world’s largest electronics empire.