HUNDREDS OF unclaimed bank account balances totalling just under $10 million at CIBC Jamaica Limited are to be published in the local press soon. This is in keeping with Section 40 of the Banking Act and the Financial Institutions Act.The Finance Ministry is mandated by law, to publish a notice of any such money that remains unclaimed in deposit taking institutions for over 15 years. The account balances range from as low as $10 to a high of over $10,000.
According to Cordell Braham, public relations manager at the Ministry of Finance and Planning, there were several guidelines governing the notification of such accounts. For example, he said, full details of these balances must be given, as well as the period during which they have remained unclaimed.
These unclaimed accounts are to be published in the Jamaica Gazette and in one or more newspapers published in Jamaica, and should be done a minimum of four times over a one-year period. However, if the sum remains unclaimed after a year from the date of its first publication of the notice in the Jamaica Gazette, they become a part of the revenues of the State, he said.
Explaining how a person may claim the balance on the account, Mr. Braham said in a JIS interview that only after meeting satisfactory requirements by the deposit taking institutions (banks) or a court of competent jurisdiction could the money be disbursed to the claimant.
Mr. Braham said, that in instances where a claim is made but not determined or finalised during the year or before the end of the year, the claimant is required to lodge with the Accountant-General, a certificate to that effect, which must be signed by a judge or Resident Magistrate. Until the claim is settled the monies cannot become part of the revenues of the State.
He said that, by law, the Accountant-General is required to pay monies to any person who can prove their rights to any unclaimed sums.
