Prosecutors have raided Samsung Electronics' headquarters as part of an investigation into allegations that executives and employees at its robotics subsidiary, Rainbow Robotics, made billions of won in illicit gains through insider trading.
According to legal sources, the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office's joint financial and securities crime investigation unit, led by Chief Prosecutor Shin Dong-hwan, raided Samsung Electronics' headquarters in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on Wednesday.
The raid follows a referral by the Financial Services Commission's Securities and Futures Commission, which in February filed a complaint with prosecutors against 16 people — including Rainbow Robotics CEO Lee and former Chief Financial Officer Bang — on charges of violating the Capital Markets Act through the use of undisclosed information.
Rainbow Robotics executives and employees are suspected of using non-public information to pocket between 3 billion and 4 billion won (about $2.63 million) in illicit profits during the period from 2022 to 2024, when Samsung Electronics was acquiring a stake in Rainbow Robotics.
Prosecutors believe some individuals also leveraged borrowed funds or shared undisclosed information with associates to generate additional illicit gains.
Prosecutors had previously raided Rainbow Robotics' headquarters in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, in March. That search also covered the homes of current and former Rainbow Robotics executives and employees, as well as Samsung Electronics' Suwon campus.
paq@heraldcorp.com
