Mr Lynch said Mr Prasad was "a diligent saver and checks of his banking history confirm that this money was gradually saved over a long period".
The money was withdrawn from a term investment, "which suggests to us that there was some recent event or activity that motivated Shalvin to withdraw this money without the knowledge of his family", Mr Lynch said.
He said Mr Prasad had been described by his family as "innocent and naive" and it was possible somebody had taken advantage of that.
He said police were investigating whether he was the victim of fraud or if he was bribed or blackmailed.
The development comes the day after the funeral for Mr Prasad, whose scorched body was found in a scrub fire on Thursday.
A homicide investigation was confirmed at the weekend.