Nicky Liow pleads not guilty to 26 corruption charges

SHAH ALAM - Former fugitive businessman Nicky Liow has pleaded not guilty to 26 counts of money laundering at the Sessions Court here today.

Liow had made the plea in front of judge Helina Sulaiman after the charges were read in Mandarin to him.

According to the charges, he was alleged to have been involved in money transactions stemming from illegal activities, directly to his personal bank account.

The offences allegedly took place in the Bandar Puteri Puchong branch of Malayan Banking Berhad from 2019 to 2021.

He was charged under Section 4(1)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act (AMLATFA) 2001.

If convicted, Liow could face a prison term of up to 15 years and can be fined no less than five times the amount garnered through illicit means or RM5 million, or whichever is higher.

During the proceedings, deputy public prosecutor Rozaliana Zakaria asked for bail to be refused as Liow had allegedly committed an unbailable offence.

"The accused were also in hiding from the police for over a year.

"Various efforts were made to track him down including publication in the media, Interpol red notice and even an arrest warrant,'' she said.

The prosecution is also handled by Noor Zalizan Lazarous and Syafinas Shabudin.

Noor Zalizan also argued that if bail were to be set by the court, they suggest that it should be set at RM3.6 million with two sureties.

"The accused will also need to report himself at the Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department every two weeks and must surrender his passport to the court,'' she said.

However, Liow's lawyer, Datuk Rajpal Singh argued that bail should be set at RM300,000 with two sureties and will not object to other conditions set by the court.

"Nicky is not a flight risk because, throughout the year, he was in the country, in fact, his passport was seized by the police.

"If he wanted to run, he would not surrender himself instead my client wishes to prove his innocence,'' he said.

After deliberations, judge Helina had set bail at RM1 million with two sureties as well as added conditions as recommended by the prosecution.

The court then set May 26 for case mention.

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