A court in South Korea has approved the arrest of Samsung’s heir apparent Lee Jae-yong, accused of bribery and other charges.

The case is linked to a scandal that led to the impeachment of the country’s President Park Geung-hye.

Samsung is accused of giving donations to non-profit foundations operated by Choi Soon-sil, a friend of Ms Park, in exchange for government favours.

Mr Lee and the Samsung Group deny any wrongdoing.

The Samsung chief had already been questioned with several other company executives in January but a subsequent court ruling decided there was insufficient grounds for an arrest.

But on Friday, days after Mr Lee was summoned back to court for a hearing held behind closed doors, a court spokesman said in a statement: “It is acknowledged that it is necessary to arrest [Lee Jae-Yong] in light of a newly added criminal charge and new evidence.”

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Prosecutors accused Mr Lee of giving bribes worth 41bn won ($36m/£29m) to President Park and her close friend Choi Soon-sil to win government support for a smooth leadership transition within Samsung.

Lee Jae-yong, also known as Jay Y Lee, first gave evidence in front of a parliamentary hearing in December last year. Since January he has been treated as an official suspect in the case.

At the parliamentary hearing, Samsung admitted giving a total of 20.4bn won to two foundations, but denied seeking favours in return.

And Mr Lee also confirmed the firm gave a horse and money to help the equestrian career of Ms Choi’s daughter, Chung Yoo-ra, something he said he now regretted.

Mr Lee is currently vice-chairman of Samsung Electronics. But since his father, Lee Kun-hee, suffered a heart attack in 2014, he is considered de facto boss of the entire Samsung Group conglomerate.