Assets And Cash Without Owners Hit Ksh 50 Billion

Unclaimed cash, shares, and dividends that have been surrendered to the Unclaimed Financial Assents Authority have hit the 50 billion shillings mark as the rich in Kenya increasingly fail to claim their assets.

As of December 2020, the worth of unclaimed assents stood at 51.4 billion shillings, a 19 percent increased from 43 billion shillings recorded in June 2020.

Billionaire business owners, former powerful government officials, and prominent politicians are on the long list of individuals whose shares worth 31.9 billion shillings have been surrendered to the Treasury, up from 26.3 billion shillings in June and 16.42 billion shillings in 2017.

The authority says many Kenyans seem disinterested in following up cash and assets held by their relatives when they die. This has led to a surge in the number of unclaimed assets and cash that are often surrendered to the government.

The authority reckons it had received 19.9 billion shillings cash in local and foreign currencies up from 16.7 billion shillings in June. Surrendered safe boxes that are believed to contain jewelry, title deeds, share certificates, and Treasury bills rose to 1,953 units from 1,592 in June.

There are many reasons why there is an increase in unclaimed assets. One, people failing to disclose their wealth in cash, bank accounts, and properties to their families before they die. Two, inadequate awareness of the procedures needed to claim assets/cash.

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Most of the unclaimed assets belong to rich politicians and businessmen whose kins might have died and left behind assets unknown to the family members. The authority is calling on Kenyans who wish to know whether their assets are among the unclaimed to contact them.

Many Kenyans feel the authority has failed in giving clear procedures that one ought to follow to claim assets belonging to them or their loved ones.