The Unclaimed Financial Assets Authority (UFAA) has begun moving over 800 million units of unclaimed shares that remained uncollected by owners and beneficiaries to the Unclaimed Assets Trust Central Depository Account. According to the latest financial report from the UFAA, the total value of unclaimed assets held by the State stands at Ksh 13.3 billion at the end of September 2020, up from Ksh 10 billion recorded in 2018. Most of the assets, now in the custody of the UFAA, have been surrendered by public listed firms, insurance companies, banks, pension schemes, legal firms, telecoms operators and SACCOs, among others.
UFAA has also taken custody of Ksh 16.7 billion in cash, 1,592 safe deposit boxes and assorted units trusts.
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The unclaimed assets are those whose owners have failed to participate in corporate actions for at least three years.
These actions include attending annual shareholder meetings, collection of dividends or taking up additional shares during stock splits.
In August 2020, UFAA issued a statement alerting owners or beneficiaries of the assets that if they did not come forward, the assets would be sold as per the law.
Most of the unclaimed assets are attributed to failure by the deceased to inform beneficiaries of their existing assets.
Longtime intelligence chief James Kanyotu, politician JM Kariuki and former cabinet minister Mbiyu Koinange all deceased, are among prominent individuals whose dividends and shares are held at the agency following family feuds that have frozen the sharing of their properties.
More than 11 years after the death of the spymaster (Kayotu), the courts are yet to decide on how his property estimated at Ksh 20 billion will be shared.
Unclaimed assets include money in bank accounts that have been dormant for more than five years, bankers cheques not cashed and contents in safe deposit boxes unclaimed for more than two years.
A survey by the agency found that insurance firms hold 25% of unclaimed funds. Other major holders of idle assets are pension funds and public listed companies.
An estimated two million Kenyans have their money sitting idle in an account at the Central Bank of Kenya as unclaimed assets.
Reporting and surrendering unclaimed financial assets by all holders is mandatory and is due on or before November 1 each year.
How to reclaim assets
People wishing to find and lodge claims on any unclaimed assets owned by self or on behalf of family, a group, companies or institutions, are encouraged to check whether they are listed on the unclaimed assets database available on the claims portal available of the UFAA website.
Alternatively, one can check by dialling *361# on their Safaricom line.