When the funds are irrevocably committed and genuinely at risk, which depends on the escrow and cancellation terms rather than on the date the payment left the account.
Irrevocable is a contractual state, not a payment event
Hypothetical example: The requirement is that capital be placed at risk with the objective of generating a return, and subject to partial or total loss if the enterprise fails. Money held in an escrow the buyer can unwind at will remains the buyer's money. A properly structured escrow that releases on a defined condition can satisfy the requirement, but the drafting has to reflect that purpose, and the applicant has to be able to point to the clause.
Selwyn buyers acquiring a seasonal operation often face pressure to close before a season begins, and the temptation is to sign standard terms and address immigration afterwards. That order is the expensive one. Reading the commitment requirement into the purchase agreement while it is still being negotiated costs nothing; retrofitting an argument onto terms written for a domestic buyer costs time the season may not have.