Putrajaya: A Bangladeshi national has failed in his appeal to recover RM723,000 seized during a raid, after the Court of Appeal upheld a forfeiture order made by the Sessions Court. A three-member bench chaired by Justice Datuk Azmi Ariffin, together with Justices Datuk Hayatul Akmal Abdul Aziz and Datuk Meor Hashimi Abdul Hamid, dismissed Salman Ahmad Chowdhury's appeal against the High Court's decision rejecting his revision application to challenge the Sessions Court's order forfeiting the money to the government.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, delivering the court's unanimous decision, Justice Hayatul Akmal said the Sessions Court had not erred in making the forfeiture order and that the High Court's refusal to revise the Session Court's order was proper. She said there was a connection between the seized money and the offence, adding that Salman's counsel admitted they did not know who owned the money.

The facts of the case revealed that Salman Ahmad, 32, had pleaded guilty at the Sessions Court to breaching the conditions of his temporary employment visit pass. Although authorised to work as a cleaner for a company, he was found working at another place. Salman was fined RM400 and ordered to be deported. He did not appeal the order before his deportation.

During a raid on January 17, 2024, enforcement officers from the Immigration Department found Salman in possession of several foreign passports and RM723,000 cash kept in a safe deposit box. Salman and three others were subsequently arrested. Following his guilty plea, the Sessions Court ordered the forfeiture of RM723,000 to the government.

His former employer, Agensi Pekerjaan Insight Alliance Sdn Bhd, was also fined RM10,000 for hiring an undocumented migrant and did not appeal the conviction. On May 6, 2025, Salman applied to the High Court to revise the lower court's decision to forfeit the monies. The High Court dismissed the application on May 19, 2025, leading him to appeal to the Court of Appeal.

At the Court of Appeal proceeding, Salman was represented by lawyers Atiqa Nazihah Azmi and Nur Khairunnisa Sabirah Abdul Manan, while Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohamad Arif Aizuddin Masrom appeared for the prosecution.