The Court of Appeal dismisses Salman Ahmad Chowdhury’s appeal, upholding the forfeiture of RM723,000 seized in an immigration raid.

PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal has dismissed a Bangladeshi national’s final bid to recover RM723,000 seized from him during an immigration raid. A three-member bench unanimously upheld the forfeiture of the cash to the government.

Justice Datuk Hayatul Akmal Abdul Aziz, delivering the court’s decision, stated the Sessions Court had not erred in making the original forfeiture order. She noted a clear connection was established between the seized money and the immigration offence.

“We also take into consideration that the revision application was filed more than a year after the order was made, which is unreasonable to be given consideration,” she said. The court also considered that Salman’s counsel admitted they did not know who owned the money.

According to case facts, Salman Ahmad Chowdhury, 32, pleaded guilty in the Sessions Court to breaching his temporary employment visit pass conditions. He was authorised to work as a cleaner for one company but was found working elsewhere.

He was fined RM400 and ordered deported, a decision he did not appeal. During a raid on Jan 17, 2024, immigration officers found Salman in possession of several foreign passports and the RM723,000 in cash kept in a safe deposit box.

Following his guilty plea, the Sessions Court ordered the money forfeited to the government. His former employer, Agensi Pekerjaan Insight Alliance Sdn Bhd, was also fined RM10,000 for hiring an undocumented migrant.

Salman later applied to the High Court to revise the forfeiture decision, but this was dismissed on May 19, 2025, leading to his final appeal at the Court of Appeal.

 The Sun Malaysia