Treasury to Auction Unclaimed Assets Worth Sh 26bn

The Unclaimed Financial Assets Authority (UFAA) has given owners of shares of up to 800 million units to end of August to claim ownership of the stocks.

The list of possible owners include billionaires, former powerful government officials and prominent politicians among others risk losing Sh, 26 billion worth of shares that have been surrendered to the treasury as idle assets.

Earlier this year, the authority said it was holding Sh16 billion that Kenyan families – some of whom could be languishing in poverty with members in frail health for lack of proper medication – are unaware of their existence.

A report by the authority showed that it was in possession of 12 million shares of listed companies of undisclosed value, which it has warned it will sell through the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) and stocks in non-listed firms through public auction from September 1.

Money lying idle in government custody rose by 23% in 2019, most of it being uncollected salaries, pension dues, matured policies, bank deposits and royalties.

“Members of the public are notified that various institutions have reported over 800 million units of unclaimed shares among other assets. The authority wishes to advise apparent owners or beneficiaries to lodge claims. The authority (UFAA) as per the law may sell shares not claimed as at August 31,” the authority announced in a public notice.

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. The unclaimed shares stood at 132.1 million, worth Sh9.36 billion, in 2016.

The law requires that the holding companies should search for the rightful owners of an asset before declaring it unclaimed.

A review of the authority’s database by Business Daily revealed a long list of prominent Kenyans among them former vice president Kalonzo Musyoka, whose fortune was picked up from Standard Chartered Bank, KCB bank and Co-operative bank. Bungoma Senator, Moses Wetangula, is also at risk of losing his NCBA, East Africa Cables, East Africa Breweries, Housing Finance, and Airtel shares. Others include former cabinet minister, Simeon Nyachae who controls a vast business empire in interests in the transport, manufacturing, large-scale farming, and banking sector.

Failure of the deceased to inform the beneficiaries of the existence of such assets is what has contributed to most assets going unclaimed.

UFAA says it is struggling to reunite the assets with their rightful owners or beneficiaries claiming some are being turned off by the worth of assets under treasury’s custody while other wealthy families are shying away from claiming the billions of shillings lying in idle assets.