Samsung Electronics attempt a last-ditch effort to save their leader Lee Jae-yong from going back to prison has hit a serious roadblock after South Korean prosecutors sought an arrest warrant for the vice chairman over accounting fraud.

Lawyers defending Samsung in the ongoing court case released a statement strongly condemning the prosecutors' decision to seek an arrest warrant for the heir of the country's most powerful business group.

An official statement by the team of Samsung's legal team sent to reporters stated that "Samsung Vice Chairman Lee and senior group executives involved in the alleged accounting fraud claims and other wrongdoings were fully cooperative with the prosecutors over the last 20 months. Some 110 group executives were summoned 430 times. Samsung never complained about the prosecutors' probe despite growing business challenges. However, Thursday's decision by the prosecutors went too far."

The statement and the prosecutors' seeking of an arrest warrant came a day after Samsung requested the Seoul Central Prosecutors' Office to convene a citizen committee to judge the investigation regarding the merger between two Samsung units.

Despite the prosecutors' move, Samsung plans to continue its last-ditch effort to save Lee.

The 51-year-old heir and executives have been under the prosecution's investigation for allegedly lowering the value of Samsung C&T and inflating Cheil Industries before their merger in 2015. At that time, Lee was the largest shareholder of Cheil Industries.

Prosecutors also suspected that the group's biopharmaceutical arm Samsung BioLogics intentionally committed accounting fraud to inflate the valuation of the biopharmaceutical arm and an affiliate of Cheil Industries in order to enhance Lee's control of the group. Lee has denied the charges.

The prosecutors’ move came two days after Lee asked the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office to convene an investigation review committee so that external experts, not prosecutors, can determine the validity of his indictment.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office is going to convene a citizen prosecutorial committee soon to determine whether to transfer the case to the investigation deliberation committee of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office. Once the citizen prosecutorial committee determines that it is appropriate for an investigation deliberation committee to determine Lee’s indictment, the prosecutor general must initiate the procedure for convening it.

In August 2017 Patently Apple posted a report titled "Samsung in Shock as Vice Chairman Lee Jae-young is Sentenced to a Five Year Jail Term." At that time, the Korean court sentenced Samsung's Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong to a five year jail term, finding him guilty on all five charges over his involvement in the corruption scandal that led to the impeachment the nation's former president.

It appears that South Korea's prosecutors have it in for Samsung Electronic's and its Vice Chair. This story is developing and we'll update oiur report should any meaningful breaking news is made available.