Two executives of South Korean tech giant Samsung’s biopharmaceutical unit have been arrested on suspicion of destroying evidence to cover up an alleged ₩4.5 trillion ($3.9 billion) accounting fraud, renewing questions about governance at South Korea’s biggest conglomerate. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office on Monday arrested an executive and another employee at Samsung Bioepis, the biosimilar unit of Samsung Group, for falsifying and destroying evidence and violating the country’s audit law. The pair are the first Samsung employees to be arrested after prosecutors launched a probe into the case late last year. According to prosecutors, the two employees arrested are suspected of destroying key accounting records and internal documents ahead of the investigation by financial regulators and prosecutors. The investigation has cast doubt over the long-term growth strategy of Samsung as the group is struggling to find new growth drivers beyond semiconductors and smartphones.

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The Financial Times