• State agency will kick off first phase from April 29 in Mombasa, Kwale and Taita Taveta.
• Assets are regarded as unclaimed when an owner of properties does not take any action during a certain duration.
The Unclaimed Financial Assets Authority has began giving funds and assets worth billions of shillings to beneficiaries.
Assets are regarded as unclaimed when an owner of properties including income, dividends or interest does not take any action during a certain duration by law to indicate ownership or awareness of their existence.
The state agency will kick off the first phase of the campaign from April 29 at three coastal counties of Mombasa, Kwale and Taita Taveta, which collectively have unclaimed assets worth over 400 million.
“The big hurdle is that most people assume they do not have anything to claim or think it does not apply to them. It is important for people to search if they are listed on our database which is accessible on our website or the shortcode,” UFAA chief executive John Mwangi said.
Institutions have also been called to report cases of accounts credited with customer money or an undelivered cheque from a customer.
The authority is currently holding unclaimed cash valued at Sh13.1 billion, 1451 safe deposit boxes and Sh555.5 million units of shares made up of unclaimed dividends, shares, wages, dormant bank accounts, gift vouchers and life insurance policies.
Mwangi added UFAA will help identify owners and encourage them to claim such assets.
“It is important that Kenyans are reunited with lost and found assets, as it can greatly contribute to the economy of this country,” Mwangi said.
Since its inception in 2014, UFAA has received claims worth over Sh400 million from almost 7,000 claimants and has managed to issued over half of them.
With majority of the assets held in financial institutions, most instruments are termed as unclaimed if the owner has not communicated in writing to the holder concerning the assets or has not made alterations in deductions or increasing interest.
Instruments such as cheques or drafts become unclaimed property if they have been outstanding for more than two years from payable date or after issuance.
Savings, matured fixed deposit and funds paid in purchase of a share and mutual investment interest become unclaimed if they have been abandoned for five years.
UFAA has been empowered to sell the abandoned assets within three years after the security after receipt of presumed abandoned in auction to the public.