Melbourne Gold Company employee Daniel Ede is accused of helping longtime customer Karl Kachami steal more than $3.9 million in gold bullion, cash and other valuables from the CBD business in April.

Ede, 37, was initially believed to be Kachami's victim before being charged with offences including perjury.

He wants to be released on bail so he can provide for his wife and children, and because of likely delays to his case caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than $300,000 stolen from the gold company on April 27 remains missing and prosecutors fear Ede will go and retrieve it.

The owner of the gold business also worries for his safety, police told Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday.

His mutual friend had been contacted by a solicitor seeking a character reference for Ede after his arrest, Detective Senior Constable Sarah Inglese said.

The business owner was asked for a reference along the lines of "he would trust him (Ede) with his life," she added.

Ede is alleged to have let Kachami, clad in a high visibility vest and surgical mask, into the gold business after receiving a call.

"This is a robbery. This is a hold-up," Kachami allegedly said, pulling out a black handgun, according to CCTV footage.

The 48-year-old allegedly told Ede to unplug the CCTV hard drive. It kept recording on backup power.

Ede is accused of giving Kachami various signals and taking him to safes, helping unload more than $2.4 million of gold and $716,970 in cash.

He then sat on the floor while Kachami bound him with cable ties before leaving, police also say.

When two customers entered the store, Ede is said to have told them "don't be alarmed but we've been robbed".

Kachami was arrested that day. He allegedly told police he didn't commit the robbery but knew where the gold was buried.

A large box of gold with Melbourne Gold Company invoices on them, as well as jewellery, were found buried on a property at Dollar, in Victoria's Gippsland region.

Days later, Ede was allegedly spotted by a woman at Leongatha, about a half-an-hour drive from Dollar, reading a Melways street directory.

"I'm looking for a place called Dollar," Ede is said to have told her when asked if he needed help.

Asked why, he allegedly said: "I'm just going to do some digging around."

Ede was later arrested and charged with five offences including knowingly making a false statement about the incident.

Other charges included possessing an unlicensed firearm and entering the gold business as a trespasser armed with a handgun and with the intent to steal.

"This is a $4 million theft involving a firearm in the CBD during business hours," prosecutor Andrew McKenry said.

"It was a planned occasion and there is still a large sum of money out there ... this man has access to."

Ede's barrister, Theo Alexander, suggested there may be another explanation for what was alleged to have occurred.

He said there could have been "a suspicion in the mind of Mr Ede that the person that robbed him was Mr Kachami".

"If he chooses to explore that without the police then that's a matter for him,"' Dr Alexander added.

A decision about whether to grant Ede bail has been delayed until after Kachami faces court on Thursday, also asking to be released from custody.

Australian Associated Press