A 21-year-old Malaysian student who had A$4.6 million (US$3.4 million) mistakenly put into her bank account appeared in court today after attempting to fly out of the country, police and news reports said.

The woman, who was arrested trying to board a flight from Sydney Airport to Malaysia, was charged in court with fraud and knowingly dealing with the proceeds of crime. She denied the charges.

Police said the money was wrongly transferred to her bank account in 2012 when she was 17 years old, although it is not clear where the money came from. She cannot be named as she was not an adult at the time.

She never returned the money and was on the run for four years before police issued a warrant for her arrest two months ago.

Police alleged in court she spent A$1.1 million over the past four years on luxury items such as handbags and shoes. Some A$3.3 million is still unaccounted for, the Daily Telegraph reported.

The court was not told how she was able to withdraw the money from her account before the bank could stop her.

She was granted bail to reappear in court on June 21.

- dpa