A coalition of 30 CSOs demands transparency from the Attorney General regarding the DNAA granted to businessman Nicky Liow on 26 money laundering charges.
PETALING JAYA: A coalition of 30 civil society organisations (CSOs) has called on Attorney General Tan Sri Datuk Dusuki Mokhtar to explain why businessman Nicky Liow Soon Hee was granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) on 26 money laundering charges involving more than RM36 million, warning that the lack of transparency risks undermining public confidence in Malaysia’s justice system.
In a joint statement today, the organisations said more than three years have passed since Liow was granted a DNAA after the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) accepted a representation on his behalf, yet no public explanation has been provided as to why the prosecution was discontinued or whether the charges will be reinstated.
Liow, who faced 26 charges under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001, was granted a DNAA on June 15, 2023. His lawyer confirmed the decision after the AGC accepted the representation.
The coalition stressed that its concern was not the outcome of Liow’s case, but the lack of accountability surrounding the decision.
“The public is entitled to know why a RM36 million money laundering prosecution was discontinued, rather than discovering it years later through a defence press conference,” the statement said.
The organisations argued that Liow’s case reflects a broader pattern in which high-profile corruption and money laundering prosecutions are discontinued through a DNAA without public justification before eventually resulting in a discharge amounting to an acquittal (DAA).
They cited the outstanding criminal cases involving former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak as examples.
Najib was granted a DNAA in November 2024 on six criminal breach of trust charges involving RM6.6 billion linked to the International Petroleum Investment Company after the prosecution failed over several years to provide documents requested by the defence.
He was subsequently granted another DNAA in June 2025 on three money laundering charges involving RM27 million linked to SRC International after the trial, which began in 2019, stalled.
The coalition said the Madani government’s commitment to combating corruption should be measured not only by bringing charges but also by ensuring cases are pursued transparently through to their conclusion.
“A pattern in which high-profile corruption and money laundering cases are quietly discontinued and eventually lapse into full acquittal, without ever being explained or tested at trial, is not accountability,” it said.
The CSOs also reiterated that separating the offices of the Attorney General and Public Prosecutor, as proposed under the Constitution (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2026, would not by itself resolve concerns over prosecutorial discretion.
They said any reform must be accompanied by statutory safeguards, including clear prosecutorial guidelines, mandatory written reasons for discontinuing high-profile cases, and annual public reporting on discontinued prosecutions and their outcomes.
Without such safeguards, they warned, an independent Public Prosecutor would still be able to discontinue cases without providing a public explanation.
The coalition urged the AGC to disclose the basis, considerations and timeline behind Liow’s DNAA, as well as its intentions regarding the outstanding charges.
It also called on the Parliamentary Special Select Committee and Parliament to ensure that the enabling legislation separating the offices of the Attorney General and Public Prosecutor includes legally binding transparency measures that come into force alongside the constitutional amendment.
