NAIROBI, Kenya – Kenya’s Unclaimed Financial Assets Authority (UFAA) is under renewed scrutiny after a damning audit revealed that more than Sh332 billion in unclaimed financial assets remain unrecovered from institutions legally required to surrender them.
The audit, conducted by Auditor General Nancy Gathungu and covering the period between 2018 and 2024, paints a troubling picture of weak enforcement, poor coordination, and low compliance across financial and public institutions — leaving many Kenyans cut off from money that rightfully belongs to them.
According to the report, while a 2018 survey estimated unclaimed assets at Sh397 billion, UFAA had only secured Sh65 billion by August 2024 — representing a recovery rate of just 16.4 per cent.
“This indicates a relatively low compliance rate among holders in surrendering unclaimed assets,” Gathungu said in the report.
The unclaimed wealth spans dormant bank accounts, unpaid dividends, insurance claims, forgotten utility deposits, uncollected court bails, university caution money, shares, and items in safe deposit boxes.
Low Awareness and Weak Enforcement
The report reveals widespread ignorance and non-compliance among asset holders. Interviews showed that 59 per cent of institutions sampled were unaware of their obligation to remit unclaimed assets to UFAA.
To trace hidden funds, the authority carried out 134 compliance audits that identified Sh12.2 billion worth of assets that should have been surrendered — but actual recovery has remained minimal.
Auditors also noted that punitive fines for non-compliance have backfired. In one instance, Carbacid Investments was fined Sh30.8 million for holding unclaimed assets worth only Sh1 million — a penalty rate of 2,870 per cent.
“Such punitive measures have discouraged holders from coming forward, leaving audits unresolved and assets unrecovered,” the report observed.
Public Institutions Among the Worst Offenders
The audit lists 12,460 institutions, including government bodies, that are still holding unclaimed assets. Despite having detailed contact information for asset owners, most agencies are not legally required to share the data, hampering recovery efforts.
Even for assets already surrendered, progress in returning them to rightful owners has been slow. As of June 2024, UFAA held Sh29.6 billion in cash and 1.2 billion shares.
Assets worth Sh307 million had missing or incomplete owner details, making it nearly impossible to trace beneficiaries.
Costly Claims Process
The report also criticizes the bureaucratic and expensive process of reclaiming assets. Claimants must often hire lawyers to commission forms at about Sh500, even for as little as Sh100, before visiting the original holder for verification.
Gathungu warned that without urgent reforms, billions in idle assets could remain locked away indefinitely — depriving citizens of their wealth and the state of potential revenue.
The report calls for legal and operational reforms to strengthen UFAA’s capacity to recover, safeguard, and reunite assets with their owners.
