State use of unclaimed funds not uncommon
Government use of unclaimed funds in dormant accounts at financial institutions is not uncommon in other jurisdictions.
That fact was highlighted in research done by former Industry, Investment and Commerce Minister Anthony Hylton to support his argument for the State to use those monies to help support the micro, small, and medium-sized sector.
“Several countries have introduced unclaimed assets schemes to manage such accounts, with the schemes having varying features. These countries include Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Spain and the United States,” Hylton stated in a brief.
Hylton also pointed to what obtains in England where, he said, the Government in its 2004 budget Red Book stated that: “Where assets and owners cannot be reunited, it is also right that the assets be reinvested in society, as long as the original owners’ entitlements to reclaim are preserved.”
Unclaimed assets held in banks in Britain, he pointed out, were used to improve youth and community facilities throughout the country.
“Through the use of the unclaimed funds, the British Government’s aim is to start the country’s first national youth community service, with an initial investment of £100 million. It was also explained that the scheme would fund the first gap year volunteering for youths who would not otherwise be able to do so.”
The British Government, he said, also used unclaimed funds to establish a National Sport Foundation that distributed proceeds “fairly across the charitable and voluntary sector”.
In addition, a commission was set up to determine the allocation of funds.
The objectives of the Commission were:
• To ensure that consumers would always be able to access their money regardless of when they come forward to claim it
• To recommend the best way of using the remaining resources to benefit the country as a whole, with specific focus on disadvantaged communities
• To identify means to maximise the impact of the funds by leveraging any other forms of funding which increase the overall investment in disadvantaged communities.
Hylton’s brief also pointed to unclaimed funds schemes in France and Italy, where the monies, he said, are “placed in a fund for the victims of financial frauds and also used for the purpose of recruitment in the civil service”.