Rise and fall of Malaysian crime boss Nicky Liow
KUALA LUMPUR - Nicky Liow Soon Hee describes himself as a businessman and a philanthropist.
But up until Monday (April 11), when he surrendered to the authorities ending a year on the run, most people would have associated his name with organised crime: So far, more than 100 associates of his - including some who held Datuk Seri titles, just like Liow - have been arrested and 16 of them have been charged.
The 34-year-old Liow pleaded not guilty in Shah Alam on Tuesday (April 12) to 26 charges of money laundering tied to Macau scams - a kind of confidence fraud over the phone that was purportedly named after the Chinese territory because it was first encountered there.
Liow had an earlier brush with the law but was acquitted in 2019 of assaulting two People's Volunteer Corps members in 2017 after paying them a RM2,000 (S$643) settlement.
That case was what first brought Liow to national attention, with questions being raised about how a 20-something with a criminal record - Liow has been implicated in up to a dozen assault and drug cases - had been able to so openly flaunt his wealth and gain the title of Datuk Seri.
Unlike others engaging in dubious dealings, Liow was not averse to the limelight; multiple social media postings and viral videos on phone messenger apps showing him handling vast amounts of cash and living large attest to that fact.
Amid the Covid-19 pandemic in November 2020, he donated 11 million face masks to the government, earning a spot in the Malaysian Book of Records. They were received by none other than then Senior Minister for Security Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who became prime minister last year.
Despite this, Liow managed to keep himself out of major trouble until a relatively innocuous bogus cellphone sale worth RM1,500 in Pontian, Johor, triggered an investigation that eventually blew up into a full-blown sting on his syndicate based in Puchong, a township just outside Kuala Lumpur.
In the so-called Ops Pelican, police arrested 68 people in eight days, following a March 20 raid on Liow's Puchong base of 48 apartments. According to then Johor police chief Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay, who has since been transferred back to federal headquarters, Liow, said to be worth more than RM100 million by then, had managed to escape with eight bags of cash.
It was only after this raid and the issuance of an Interpol Red Notice for the fugitive that the Pahang Palace revoked Liow's Datuk Seri title.
Investigators believe he was tipped off, with the dragnet seeing at least a dozen law enforcement personnel arrested - two anti-graft officers and 10 policemen. A former deputy public prosecutor is also said to be his "fixer", and is among at least 34 law enforcers suspected of ties to Liow's operations.
Liow, who is also the founder of Winner Dynasty Group, which dubs itself an "investment management" firm, is believed to have dished out rewards for information on probes by police, the central bank and tax collectors. He was also powerful enough to force the transfer of senior officials who were tracking him down.
Although police obtained an arrest warrant on March 23, Liow's sudden surrender has sparked speculation over why he decided to come out of hiding.
"There were attempts by Nicky's associates to surrender with conditions, but it was not agreed to then. Maybe this time, it's different," a senior official told The Straits Times.
Last year, then Inspector-General of Police Abdul Hamid Bador, who has alleged that corrupt cartels operate within the force, said that Liow has ties with transnational triad leader Wan Kouk-koi, better known as "Broken Tooth".
Wan became infamous after a surge of gang violence in the gambling hub of Macau in the late 1990s.
In December 2020, the United States Treasury Department blacklisted Wan's World Hongmen History and Culture Association for anti-corruption purposes, which officials said was a front for the Hong Kong-based 14K Triad.
Tan Sri Hamid had said Wan appointed Liow as vice-president of the World Hongmen History and Culture Association in January 2019.
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