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2025-01-10

Compliance With Unclaimed Financial Assets Act, 2011

Licensees and securities issuers must conduct continuous internal reviews of records to identify unclaimed assets and proactively notify potential claimants before remitting assets to the Unclaimed Financial Assets Authority. Organizations are required to formulate and implement formal unclaimed assets policies to ensure regulatory compliance and mitigate risks. All affected entities must implement these directives and submit evidence of compliance to the Unclaimed Financial Assets Authority by March 31, 2025.

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Kenya

Capital Markets Authority Kenya

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CIRCULAR NO: 1 of 2025

January 10, 2025

To: All Licensees and Issuers of Securities to the Public

RE: COMPLIANCE WITH THE UNCLAIMED FINANCIAL ASSETS ACT, 2011

The Unclaimed Financial Assets Authority (UFAA) is a State Corporation established by the Unclaimed Financial Assets (UFA) Act 2011. The Authority's mandate is to receive unclaimed financial assets from holders of such assets, safeguard and reunite them with their rightful owners. All licensees an issuers of securities to the public under the Capital Markets Act are required to comply with this Act at all times.

Section 19 of the Unclaimed Financial Assets (UFA) Act 2011 provides that;

A holder of assets to which this Act applies shall make all reasonable efforts to locate the owner and to notify the owner about those assets.

Pursuant to this provision, and following recent engagements between the Authority and UFAA, we reemphasize that all licensees and issuers of securities to the public are required to: -

  1. Conduct continuous reviews of their records and internal assessment of unclaimed financial assets. This ongoing review is essential to identify potential unclaimed assets and reach out to the respective investors or claimants prior to remitting such assets to the UFAA.

  2. Formulate and implement unclaimed assets policies. The policies will provide clear guidance on compliance with the UFA Act 2011 and help mitigate the risk of non-compliance especially as the UFAA may conduct audits periodically.

All licensees and issuers of securities to the public are required to take note and implement these directives and provide evidence to the UFAA by 31st March 2025.

We appreciate your continuous cooperation. For any clarification, please feel free to contact UFAA at holders@ufaa.go.ke .

Yours sincerely,

FCPA Wyckliffe Shamiah, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

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