KUALA LUMPUR, April 11 — Fugitive businessman Datuk Seri Nicky Liow Soon Hee, who is wanted for multiple money laundering and commercial crimes cases, was today detained by authorities after he surrendered to police following a year-long hunt.

According to Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Datuk Mohd Kamarudin Md Din, Liow surrendered himself at the CCID headquarters here in Jalan Tun Razak at 11am.

Liow, who has an arrest warrant against him, is expected to be arraigned before the court to face criminal charges for money laundering.

"Nicky Liow will be brought before the Shah Alam court on April 12 to face a total of 26 charges under Section 4(1)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act (Act 613),” Mohd Kamarudin said in the statement.

Earlier, Mohd Kamarudin said under the instructions of the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC), his department had filed criminal charges against Liow under Act 613 and subsequently obtained an arrest warrant on March 23 this year.

Previously in March 2021, federal police then announced the arrests of 68 individuals of "Geng Nicky” including those with Datuk and Datuk Seri titles believed to be close associates to Liow.

Then Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador said Liow, who is the founder of Winner Dynasty Group, has alleged ties with a transnational organised crime leader known as Wan Kouk-koi @ Broken Tooth.

Wan, also widely known as "Broken Tooth Koi”, rose to infamy amid a surge of gang violence in the gambling enclave of Macau in the late 1990s

He was subsequently arrested — at the time he was the head of the Macau branch of the Hong Kong-based 14K Triad organised-crime group and founder of the World Hongmen History and Culture Association.

Wan had spent 14 years in prison for triad membership and money laundering, among other crimes before he was released in December 2012.

In December 2020, the United States Treasury Department blacklisted and imposed sanctions on Wan’s World Hongmen History and Culture Association for anti-corruption purposes, which officials said was an effort by the 14K Triad to legitimise itself.

Abdul Hamid said investigators also discovered that Wan had appointed Liow as vice president of the World Hongmen History and Culture Association in January 2019.

Liow was also previously arrested for assaulting two People’s Volunteer Corps (Rela) members who were on duty at the Kou Ong Yah temple in Kuala Lumpur in 2019.

He was later acquitted and discharged.

* A previous version of this story contained an error which has since been corrected.