Sh75.5 billion in unclaimed wealth lies idle as Kenyans fail to reclaim assets
By Lucy Mumbi |
The unclaimed assets include Sh39.4 billion in shares, which were surrendered to the Treasury, and Sh36.09 billion in cash held in local and foreign currencies.
A total of Sh75.5 billion in unclaimed financial assets has been handed over to the Unclaimed Financial Assets Authority (UFAA) as of November.
This marks a 21.7 per cent increase in just five months, highlighting the difficulty of reuniting these assets with their rightful owners.
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The unclaimed assets include Sh39.4 billion in shares, which were surrendered to the Treasury, and Sh36.09 billion in cash held in local and foreign currencies.
Safe deposit boxes, believed to contain items like jewellery and title deeds, have also risen to 3,737 units from 1,953 in June.
Additionally, over 9.87 million unit trusts have been surrendered, although their value has not been disclosed.
According to UFAA, these unclaimed assets come from dormant bank accounts, uncashed bankers’ cheques and unclaimed safe deposit boxes.
By law, companies holding unclaimed financial assets for more than two years, must report and hand them over to the UFAA every year by November 1.
The assets are primarily held by insurance firms, banks, legal institutions, mobile money wallets, pension schemes, and savings and credit cooperative societies (Saccos).
Penalties
Organisations that fail to comply face penalties, including a fine equal to 25 per cent of the asset’s value and daily charges ranging from Sh7,000 to Sh50,000.
Holding entities are also required to make reasonable efforts to locate the rightful owners before declaring assets unclaimed.
Despite the large amounts handed over, only 10 per cent of the unclaimed wealth has been returned to the rightful beneficiaries.
Despite the staggering figures, UFAA notes that less than 10 per cent of the unclaimed assets have been reunited with their rightful beneficiaries.
“This represents a mere 1.9 per cent of the total wealth surrendered,” the Authority said.
It noted that challenges preventing families from claiming these funds include inheritance disputes, the absence of wills, and secrecy surrounding the deceased’s wealth, which often leaves families without the required documentation to access the assets.
Since July, UFAA has received an additional Sh4.3 billion in cash, 170.3 million shares and 79 safe deposit boxes. Some companies, however, have been criticised for failing to comply with legal requirements to contact asset owners before surrendering the funds.
UFAA noted that public disinterest and unresolved family disputes remain significant barriers to reuniting these assets with their rightful owners.
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