SEOUL, Jan. 22 (Yonhap) -- Prosecutors raided the residence and office of an elder brother of former President Lee Myung-bak on Monday as part of a probe into allegations that he accepted illicit money from the state spy agency.
Investigators from Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office searched premises that belong to Lee Sang-deuk, 83, to confiscate evidence including documents and computer hard drives, the prosecution said.
Prosecutors said they have obtained testimonies from National Intelligence Agency (NIS) officials and the ex-president's aides, saying that they delivered hundreds of millions of won from NIS coffers to Lee, a six-term veteran lawmaker.
The raid comes as part of a widening prosecutors' investigation into the alleged massive illegal provision of funds by the NIS to the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae during the two previous conservative governments.
The investigation has been closing in on former president Lee, as a number of his close aides have either been arrested or questioned as suspects for their involvement in the alleged delivery of illegal funds to the presidential office during his 2009-2013 term.
Lee has denied any wrongdoing and spoke out in a recent press conference, claiming that the investigation is political retaliation from the liberal Moon Jae-in government.
Ousted and jailed former president Park Geun-hye was indicted on additional bribery and embezzlement charges early this month in connection with the scandal.
The photo taken on Nov. 15, 2017, shows Lee Sang-deuk, former lawmaker of the Saenuri Party and elder brother of former president Lee Myung-bak. (Yonhap)
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