A South Korean appeals court on Monday upheld a lower court’s ruling that acquitted Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong of financial criminal charges over a contentious merger between Samsung affiliates that cemented his grip over the biggest South Korean company.

Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Y. Lee was found not guilty of accounting fraud and stock manipulation by a Seoul appeals court on Monday, in a ruling that could remove long-running legal risks that Lee has faced from criminal cases.

A South Korean appeals court cleared Samsung Electronics Chair Lee Jae-yong Monday of stock manipulation and accounting fraud related to the 2015 merger of two of the company's affiliates.