The cost of retrieving the A$320,000 (approximately RM1 million) seized by Australian authorities was too prohibitive for Bukit Aman CID chief Wan Ahmad Najmuddin Mohd.

According to inspector-general of police Mohamad Fuzi Harun, Wan Ahmad does wish to retrieve the sum but could not afford to do so.

"He wants (the money back). That is his right. But to him, the procedure (involved)... will cost him a lot more money," he told a press conference in Bukit Aman today.

He was asked by reporters today if Wan Ahmad (photo) would seek the restitution of the funds which were frozen by Australian authorities on suspicion of money laundering.

Fuzi, when asked if the CID chief had appealed against the seizure, said: "He has not applied (to do so)."

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the Australian Federal Police alleged that the money channelled into Wan Ahmad's bank account contained laundered money or proceeds of crime.

There was a large number of deposits in the bank account for about a month, with each deposit being under A$10,000 - the threshold which would have red-flagged the account. 

The report said that the funds were seized sometime last year and underscored how Australia was being used as a safe haven for laundered money.

Bukit Aman said it had been aware of the matter since 2016, and that an internal investigation had found that the account was funded by proceeds from the sale of Wan Ahmad's house in Shah Alam, therefore clearing him of any impropriety.