The Unclaimed Financial Assets Authority (UFAA) has called upon Kenyans to claim uncollected financial assets, which have pilled up to Sh63 billion.

UFAA Chief Executive Officer John Mwangi says this comprises Sh33 billion held in cash and 1.7 billion shares valued at Sh30 billion. Speaking in Embu over the weekend at a UFAA function where he rolled out reunification clinics and campaigns, Mwangi encouraged Kenyans to check out the position of their unclaimed financial assets that could have been surrendered to the authority in their name and are now sitting in UFAA’s database.

How to claim assets

The exercise themed events that began in 2023 is meant to  sensitize members of the public on unclaimed financial assets and how to claim them.

In the year ended June 2023, Kenyans traced and recovered Sh4.5 billion in cash from the Authority as a result of the increased campaigns, he said.

“We are glad that the campaigns are bearing fruit, we have surpassed the Sh4 billion target that we had set to remit in the year 2023 by Sh500 million. These amounts mark a 49 per cent growth from the Sh3.02 billion remitted in 2022,” Mwangi said. He attributed the surpassed target to campaigns that encouraged holder compliance and remittance of unclaimed assets to UFAA.

The drive also aims to encourage holding institutions- those in possession of a financial asset on behalf of an owner, such as banks, insurance companies, or Saccos to submit and surrender unclaimed financial assets in their possession to avoid penalties and sanctions.

Mwangi said UFAA will use the public engagement platform to educate and inform Kenyans on the importance of claiming their abandoned assets.